Someone's Hero
by Slinksy
Summary: Todoroki learns that Deku is the successor to All Might and begins to doubt he can surpass Deku. Things take a turn for the worse when an incident causes him to be suspended from hero studies. In order to not fall behind from everyone else, he takes matter into his own hands under the guise of the vigilante known as Yukihira. [Formerly titled 'You're Next']
1. This Secret Stays with (the Four of) Us

**Full Summary & Notes: **

You're Next is an AU story of My Hero Academia that branches off after chapter 120 of the manga after Bakugou learns the truth of One for All and after Todoroki fails the provisional license exam. Not having a provisional license means not performing the duties of a hero, which bothers Todoroki to no end. And so Todoroki, with his own sense of justice and pride, must bend the rules and perform the duties of a hero under the guise of a vigilante with a secret identity. What happens once, happens twice and as Todoroki bends more rules to cater to his ideals, he enters a morally grey area of the world of heroes.

The list of main characters on the short summary change to fit who is important/relevant at the time of the latest chapter of this fanfic with Todoroki consistently being the main character.

Pairing:[Todoroki/Yaoyorozu]  
(More characters/pairings become relevant as story progresses)

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Humour, Slow Romance

Welcome everyone, thank you for taking your time to read this fic. The story starts off slow but picks up the pace as the story goes on. The story itself is going to be quite lengthy and with time and dedication I hope to have this story completed sometime in the future. Chapters will be revisited and fixed.

So, enjoy the ride because this will be a while!

 _New things introduced in the manga may also be mentioned/referred to here as well._

 _"Italics = Thoughts"_

 _ **"Bold Italics = Flashback"**_

* * *

" _I think I saw Bakugou and Midoriya walking towards this direction."_ Shouto Todoroki sneakily scurried across the campus.

BOOM! Todoroki jumped and brought his back to the nearest building, peeked the corner and after the dust had settled, spotted a wounded Bakugou fully pinning a wounded Midoriya on the ground.

"I win." Bakugou exhaustedly panted.

" _What the hell happened? These guys, did they seriously just fight?"_

"That'll be the end of it, you two." All Might in his regular form appeared before Bakugou and Midoriya.

Katsuki Bakugou had challenged Izuku Midoriya after All Might's final battle, coming to the realization that it was no coincidence that Midoriya and All Might's power were similar.

Bakugou couldn't look at his hero, "Why Deku? Why this guy?"

" _What the hell are they talking about?"_ Todoroki brought his ear closer so that he could eavesdrop on their conversation.

All Might had explained to Bakugou his reasoning for selecting Midoriya as his successor to One for All and his belief that Bakugou and Midoriya at full potential would be a dynamic duo. At the end of it all, only one thing left had to be said.

"This secret, stays with us."

Realizing the conversation was done and before he was caught listening in on their conversation, Todoroki headed back to the dorms before the three of them did.

* * *

Todoroki entered his room, pulled out his futon from the closet and then threw himself onto it and just stared at the ceiling for a moment.

" _What was that all about with them and All Might? Sure I always thought they were similar but Midoriya with All Might's power? Ridiculous. Nonsense."_

" _ **You were born with the sole purpose of surpassing All Might."**_ Todoroki recalled the words that his dad, the number two hero, Endeavor said to him as a young boy.

" _Even though I don't like him, I can't argue that being the number one hero was a dream we both share. A dream that wasn't ever possible as long as All Might was a hero. But if All Might really can and did transfer his powers to Midoriya, then he's the second coming of All Might."_

" _ **You All Might's illegitimate child?"**_

" _ **No you got it all wrong! I swear that's not it…"**_

" _ **The way you said, 'that's not it'. In other words, you have some connection to All Might that you can't talk about, whatever that might be."**_

"Tch." Todoroki began fidgeting in his futon before settling down. _"I mean I always had a feeling starting back from the sports festival. But even after hearing it for myself, it's hard to believe that All Might for whatever reason, chose to transfer his powers to Midoriya. So there's another way besides quirk marriages to control what quirks someone gets._

Todoroki brought both hands above his face, his left hand small flames appeared on the palms. He began to slowly curl the fingers on his right hand until they formed a fist, a fist filled with an icy sensation.

" _ **You're…next."**_

" _Have some faith in your other students All Might."_

Todoroki stopped using his powers and shoved both his arms under the coziness of his blanket that were covering him and the futon.

" _You said that as if only Midoriya can take your spot. Where would that leave every aspiring hero that wishes to fill your void? I wasn't born to be second place like my old man. It's not my goal to be number two like he is either. I'm finally using both sides. If I can master both sides I'll be the number one hero. I'll be next."_


	2. T-E-A-A-D-D-I-C-T

Days passed after Todoroki's self-declaration that night. Midoriya and Bakugou's house arrest was over and they were able to attend normal activities again. However, unlike the rest of class 1A, Bakugou and Todoroki had officially fallen behind on becoming heroes.

" _I talked big but I still don't have my provisional hero license."_ Todoroki took the boiling kettle of tea and poured it into his cup. He was groggy but to put up appearances, he looked calm and awake. The provisional hero license is proof that an individual may use their quirks for heroic activities with consent from the law.

The day had just started and homeroom was optional at this point. The other students had obtained hero internships and were starting to do their training in order to improve their skills. Meanwhile, Todoroki was just sitting in the common floor's lounge room.

"Smells good. May I have some?" Yaoyorozu created a china teacup and sat down beside Todoroki whilst gesturing her cup for him to pour tea in.

Todoroki poured his tea into her cup and distanced himself from Yaoyorozu who sat a bit too close for his liking.

"So, how's your internship going Yaoyorozu?" Todoroki asked as he began pouring the rest of the tea into a thermos.

"Internship? I'm not a part of anything like that. Instead of field training, I think it would be better if I upgraded my knowledge on how to create more things. On our off days I find myself with Mei Hatsume and her workshop."

"Mei Hatsume?"

"She's a genius inventor from the Department of Support. You know, Midoriya teamed up with her during the human cavalry race, and she gave him that armbrace for his "Shoot style". I figured that with her help I could be more creative with well…my creations. That way I could be more useful to everyone." Yaoyorozu smiled as she finished her last sip of tea.

"You're still saying stuff like that? You already proved it when we took down Aizawa-sensei. Heh." Todoroki let out a light laugh as he nudged Yaoyorozu on the shoulder with his fist. "But whatever you're doing now, also sounds great."

"And what about you?" Yaoyorozu asked him as she attempted snatched his thermos to pour some more tea for herself.

"Oi." Todoroki glared at Yaoyorozu and then grabbed the wrist of her hand that held his thermos. "I need that tea. I can't function without my daily dose of tea."

"D-daily dose?" Yaoyorozu began eyeing her surroundings. She was clearly too nervous to look at Todoroki in the eyes at this point but she let go of his thermos.

"Ten cups of tea, for the morning, afternoon and night."

"Daily dose?! Wait, ten for each time of the day?! That's an addiction! Hold on, lemme see if I can create a cure for this." Yaoyorozu frantically began searching her Yaoyoro-Belt for materials.

"I'm not addicted. I'm just following the Japanese culture."

"No. Sorry Todoroki but that's definitely an addiction."

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way…"

"We haven't gotten anything out of the way, stop trying to change the subject!"

"Can you create about nine more thermoses for me?" Todoroki then lent the very thermos she tried to take. "Just like this one. I really like how the cap can also be used as a cup to pour your tea in."

"Someone's very precise about their tea! Just admit it. You can admit it right? Admit that you have a probl-"

Todoroki stood up from his seat and began boiling multiple kettles at once. "Thanks in advance, I need them to get through the day."

"….S-sure." With a tone of defeat Yaoyorozu brought her head down and began plucking the necessary materials to make a thermos out of her belt.

Yaoyorozu had finished making the nine thermoses, each with a single letter on them. Yaoyorozu smiled with her eyes closed while presenting to Todoroki the thermoses she had lined up and it spelled out 'T-E-A-A-D-D-I-C-T'. Todoroki had a deadpan expression. He looked at the thermoses and then back at Yaoyorozu's smug face, repeating that motion five times.

"Yeah I'll still take them. Thanks." Todoroki reluctantly accepted them and after he filled them up began stuffing them inside his lengthy Yuuei brand gym bag. "What were we talking about before?"

"What you were planning to do since you don't have a provisional hero license." Yaoyorozu reminded him.

"Oh that? Those that don't pass but make it through to the final phase have to take a spec-"

"OI, ARE YOU TWO DONE YET?!" Bakugou growled as he held his Yuuei brand travel bag in one hand.

Bakugou was being restrained by Tsuyu Asui, Mina Ashido and Midoriya who had been asked by the two girls to hold Bakugou back. As Bakugou struggled, the clanking of his hero costume contained in his bag could be heard.

"Nghhhhh. They weren't finished yet!" Ashido winced as she tried with all her strength to drag Bakugou behind the wall where the four of them had been spying and eavesdropping.

"I don't give a shit! I got someplace I gotta be!" Bakugou continued to be his typical, obnoxiously loud self and eventually he broke free of everyone's grip which had loosened since their cover had already been blown.

Todoroki met eye to eye as Bakugou began stomping on his way out, "You know, I don't understand why you were waiting for us to finish our conversation, we weren't discussing anything important."

"Why do you make it sound like it was ME that was waiting? Ask those idiots!"

Yaoyorozu turned and directed her attention towards Ashido, Asui and Midoriya, "Why weren't you letting Bakugou through? People have places to be you know." Yaoyorozu had asked in her stern vice class rep voice while her two female classmates could only react by face palming their forehead since Yaoyorozu was oblivious.

"Well, they asked me to, I have no idea why. Haha…" Midoriya scratched the back of his hair nervously as he answered in place of them.

"So you're just an accomplice." Yaoyorozu looked away from him, nodded her head.

"Haha, can't argue with that."

Todoroki turned towards Midoriya, which gained his attention, "An aspiring hero shouldn't fall to peer pressure. And if you do, at least question the situation you're in."

"R-right…" _"Is it just me or does Todoroki seem more stiff when talking to me? I guess that's his usual self though.."_ Midoriya thought to himself but instead replied back more playfully,"Huh? Yeah. But it seemed interesting anyway. Besides, I learned that you have a tea addiction from this."

"I DO NOT HAVE A TEA ADDICTION."

"Mhmm~~~" Everyone there had agreed in unison.

"Bakugou, you agree too!?" Todoroki quickly spun his entire body in Bakugou's direction shocked that even he had an opinion on this matter.

"There's no reason to be ashamed. Unless you want to make a reason. But it's nice to know that you have a weakness!" Bakugou evilly grinned as he aimed the palm of his right hand at Todoroki's bag which held all the thermoses of tea.

"Don't you dare."

"I won't…unless you piss me off."

"Maaaan! Bakugou can sure be a villain sometimes." Ashido spectated with her normal gleeful tone.

"Been like that since as long as we've known him. Ribbit."

"SHUT UP!" Bakugou snapped back at the two girls that had previously been holding him back. "Enough of this, we have to get goin'." Bakgou directed his statement to Todoroki.

"Yeah. You're right."

While the girls were confused, Midoriya put two and two together, "Ah, you mean the special course for retaking the provisional hero license exam, right?"

Yuuga Aoyama, Tenya Iida and Mineta arrived at the lounge room together and managed to overhear the last bits of their conversation.

Aoyama twirled as he brought the back of the hand to his forehead, "You failed because you weren't as graceful."

"Or as skilled as the rest of us, right?" Mineta pointed his finger guns at Bakugou and Todoroki while smiling like a troll.

"Huh?" Todoroki's voice had deepened and he tilted his head at a 45-degree angle while staring at the two that had just arrived. His hands began to radiate with small flames in one hand and frost in the other.

"HAH?" Bakugou had a similar stance to Todoroki's except there were tiny explosions from each finger.

Iida grabbed Aoyama and Mineta by the collar of their shirts, "You two. Over here." Iida quickly dragged the troublemakers away from everyone before there was a crime scene.

"Yeah, we failed. So we're taking the special course to prepare us for the retake in 3 months. Then we'll can do official hero activities like everybody else." Todoroki pointed his finger at Midoriya, "And catch up to you."

Midoriya looked at his classmates in the room, even Aoyama, Mineta and Iida who were residing in a corner in the room, "We wouldn't have it any other way." Midoriya glanced at Bakugou, "We all have to do our best to fill in the void that All Might left behind."

"Let's go." Bakugou didn't acknowledge Midoriya's words and walked past everyone.

Bakugou opened the mechanized door by swiping his student card and left the building, unintentionally leaving the door open for Todoroki who would soon follow after.

"Good luck!" The classmates in the lounge room waved back and Todoroki had walked through the door.

Soon enough, it was just Todoroki and Bakugou walking together in awkward silence because neither really talked to the other often. They arrived at the bus terminal on school grounds that would take them to the site of the special course. However, a high-class black car with dark tinted windows waited for them instead as it was more compact and environmentally friendly.

"Yo. You two are late." Aizawa-sensei called out to them and then began to yawn.

"Yeah, because idiots held me back!" Bakugou explained to his homeroom teacher.

"You're coming with us?" Todoroki asked him. "Didn't think two students would warrant a big enough deal for you."

"No, I'm just here to make sure you remembered there was a special course to attend today. If you forgot I would bandage you up and drag you onto this car. Good thing there's no need."

"Good thing. I've seen what you can do during the end of term test." Todoroki shuddered as he recalled what he and Yaoyorozu had to go through just to pass the test.

"Don't forget your student card. Also, here's documentation for additional proof that you are students of Yuuei that have at least passed phase one of the provisional hero license exam." Aizawa-sensei handed them the papers. "It's not the exam but I wish you both luck."

After taking the document, the two students hopped into the car with Bakugou sitting on the left side and Todoroki on the right side, the middle seat was left open and had a compartment for drinks. The car departed Yuuei and both Bakugou and Todoroki began to sit in silence listening to the radio station playing music.

" _This seems like good time to ask him about that conversation the other day between him, Midoriya and All Might."_ Todoroki pulled out one of his thermoses of tea and began sipping on the drink. _"Actually it's a secret between them. I shouldn't say anything."_

"What do ya want? You been staring at me for a while." Bakugou had been looking out the car windows before noticing Todoroki's stare. Bakugou sat with his left arm on the car and his fist against his cheek to hold up his head.

"Nothing, the view from the left just seems nicer." Todoroki had not realized he was staring at Bakugou the entire time but continued to stare anyway. _"I'm curious. Doesn't it bother him at all that his hero, All Might, chose his childhood friend over him? Maybe I should just ask him."_

"What? Is there something on my face? Are you offering me tea?"

" _This is my chance!"_ Todoroki's arm began violently shaking as he tried to offer a new thermos from his bag to Bakugou. "H-h-h-h-here, it's y-yours."

"Hah. Nice." Bakugou began slurping loudly on it. He sighed because the tea was relieving. "This is pretty good. Once I'm done I wouldn't mind another."

"Don't push your luck and can you not drink so loudly? Tea isn't a soft drink."

"Whateeeeever." Bakugou continued to slurp but quietly this time. "You know, we're probably gonna see those Shiketsu High guys there. The ones that failed anyway."

"Nice. I'm excited." Todoroki replied back in his normal monotone voice, "Inasa Yoarashi seems like a genuinely nice person, reminds me of Iida. Too bad my old man and I are the reason someone like him isn't attending Yuuei right now."

"Nice person? His friend turned me into a meatball! I'm gonna beat him up!"

"I heard it took you, Kaminari and Kirishima to beat him. He must be quite strong, that's impressive. Almost as impressive as Midoriya being fast enough to rescue a participant after me and Yoarashi almost injured that very participant from our recklessness."

"Hmph." Bakugou took a deep breath and continued to stare outside his window. "I don't wanna talk about Deku. But I'll say this, whenever you talk to Deku, you seem intimidated by him. If he has _that_ quirk he should be strong, but he's still weak and you're still scared."

" _Scared of Midoriya? Don't make me laugh."_ Todoroki thought but instead focused on Bakugou's other statement, "What do you mean _that_ quirk?" Todoroki chose to play dumb, despite overhearing the conversation with them and All Might a few nights ago.

"I thought I said I didn't want to talk about Deku." Bakugou started to sound annoyed.

"You think I'm scared of Midoriya?" Todoroki scoffed, "I just think it's more than coincidence how similar he and All Might are. Their powers, their heroism and All-Might's favouritism."

"Something we can agree on. Now leave it alone. I'm done here."

Todoroki had no response to Bakugou effectively ending the conversation. For the duration of the car ride the two top students of class 1-A looked outside their windows in complete silence.

" _I guess I'm not getting anything else out of Bakugou."_

The air between the two was tense and Bakugou rolled down his window and just took a deep breath waiting for the car arrive at the location of the special course.

* * *

" _This is the location of the special course?"_ Todoroki as he exited from the car.

The destination of the special course was a simple yet large Japanese university institution with an open campus filled with young adults who were the students attending the university. No wall or fence surrounded the campus grounds but all buildings had a modern office building look with navy blue tinted windows. There were pop-up signs and banners directing the visitors attending the special course.

"What is this crap!? We just left school to go to another school!" Bakugou exclaimed loudly which gained the dirty stares of attending students everywhere.

"Hey. Aren't those two are from Yuuei?"

"I remember seeing them on TV during their sports festival!"

"Kya~ Is that Todoroki? He's so cool. You know, he might be my type."

"That's Bakugou? He's scary! Looks like he'd bite your head off."

Noticing the chatter of people, Todoroki picked up the pace and began walking ahead of Bakugou. "Let's head to the special course. We seem to be gathering too much attention."

"Yeah, if word got out that two students from Yuuei's 1A were here, it could turn bad." Bakugou decided to cover the sides of his face as he followed Todoroki.

* * *

The two navigated their way around the campus, successfully arriving at the special course location where they showed the appropriate documentation. They came to a normal university lecture hall with long wooden benches and long tables separated into 3 aisles. Immediately after walking through the door a manly, deep, hot-spirited voice called out to Todoroki.

"Hohoho, you are here I see!"

Todoroki and Bakugou spotted the man's Shiketsu High uniform before seeing that it was Yoarashi, the man with the Gale quirk, who had greeted Todoroki.

"Hey." Todoroki finally answered him back.

"Aren't those the guys from Shiketsu and Yuuei?"

"Seriously? They didn't pass the first time? Haha. I guess hero schools really aren't THAT special."

" _We keep gathering attention wherever we go."_ Todoroki did his best to ignore the comments from the other aspiring heroes and dragged the two idiots with him to the backseats beside the window.

"Hohoho, the protagonist seat! I like your spirit Todoroki!" Yoarashi nodded his head in approval.

Todoroki and Bakugou raised an eyebrow, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing! Just that in manga and comics that I read, the protagonist sits at the window seat."

"Oh…" Todoroki seemed unimpressed with Yoarashi's knowledge.

"Hey, at least you get to be the main character." Bakugou seemed oddly jealous and focused his attention to the front of the class.

An instructor from the Hero Public Safety Commission walked through the door and position himself in front of the podium. It was the same grumpy, lethargic looking man from the Hero License Exam who's features included the bags under his eyes, the jaw that stuck out and his sloppy, uncombed, thick hair.

The instructor cleared his throat, "Everyone who is here, should have passed the first phase but failed the second phase of the exam that took place a few weeks ago. I'm not going to waste time, every person here has gotten an evaluation of what they did wrong and what needs to improve in the future. The first exercise of the special course is simple."

" _Right down to business."_ Todoroki perked his ears, his body leaned in from his seat.

"Find a student on this very campus and solve a problem they may have. The student must be willing to accept your help and must be brought back here as proof of your help. No matter what you choose to assist in, as long as you help, it's fine. However, violence is prohibited. You have until the afternoon."

Bakugou stood up and out of his seat, he slammed both fists onto the table, "Huh?! That's it? That's not being a hero, that's being a helper! No violence? You want to subject ourselves to acting like E-list heroes?"

The instructor slowly brought forth his hand, gesturing his hand for Bakugou to calm down and stop his banter, "No act is too small. Heroes don't need a villain, only a problem. Sometimes they must be humble and aid the civilians on a day-to-day basis. If you start with the small things, you'll gain the people's trust."

"And if you take down a villain, you'll gain more people's trust." Bakugou continued to argue his point.

"What you say is true, but no one here is allowed to perform heroic activities but me." The instructor flashed his hero license. "That's what the license is for. If you do stumble across a situation that could turn violent, I hope you take the correct approach. Dismissed and good luck everyone."

Bakugou had an angry, pouty expression on his face then turned towards Todoroki and Yoarashi, "No violence? He's basically telling me that I can't use my quirk!"

"If it gets dangerous we can use our quirks for self-defense." Todoroki explained to Bakugou and then stood up from his corner seat trying to find a way to the aisle but was blocked by his two comrades, "Hurry up, we need to leave."

"Oh right, sorry." Yoarashi moved over and began walking down the aisle together, "Self-defense seems like the correct approach to take."

The trio were the last ones to leave the room and the instructor put his hand on Bakugou's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Ya need something?" Bakugou tilted his head so that only one of his eyes met with the instructor.

"I know you Yuuei students have already experienced the dangers of the hero world but for this exercise, there's no need to be that type of hero. There's a time and place for everything but not now." The instructor loosened his grip on Bakugou and the three began walking the door.

Todoroki stopped in his tracks once they were outside the building, "You know, I think we need to split up for this."

"What? Hohoho, I was thinking we team up to help a club out with their activities!" Yoarashi brought his index finger beside his head, believing he thought of a simple solution.

"That seriously sounds lame." Bakugou snapped back at Yoarashi. "Half & Half is right, we should split up." Bakugou began walking away from them with his hands in his pocket.

"Good luck." Todoroki took a thermos out of his bag and sipped on the tea he made this morning. _"Half & Half...?"_

Yoarashi strutted around campus, eagerly looking for a university student to help but during the morning most students were attending class. It was too early for most students to use their free time to be on campus.

"Gale!" Motioned to punch the ground while standing, which created a strong gust of wind beneath him and launched him into the air.

In midair he formed binoculars with his hands, trying to scout the area for students. At last, he found a lone girl sitting in a bench in front of a fountain and landed directly in front of her. The girl jumped back in her seat and the gust of wind from Yoarashi's landing made the girl cover her eyes from flying grains of dirt. The girl had a strange look. Her hair was half-white, half black split down the middle, eerie similar to Todoroki's hairstyle. She was wearing a tailored pure black goth lolita dress with some purple and white striped stockings.

"Hello there!" Yoarashi saluted them. "Hohoho, sorry for interrupting but I am here for the hero license exam's special course. Is there anything I can help with?"

"You want to help me~?" The girl was fiddling around with a needle in her pocket, hidden from the innocent eyes of Yoarashi. "Sure, just come around to the back of this building, I got just the thing for you."

"Oh! Thank you!" Yoarashi saluted her and then followed her unsuspectingly.

* * *

"Grrrrrrah! This exercise is stupid." Bakugou was stomping around the campus with the students gossiping to each other while staring at an obnoxiously loud Bakugou.

After settling down for a bit and keeping to himself, the whispers died down and soon enough Bakugou found himself near an isolated building a block away from the other buildings. Bakugou heard voices whispering, the intense rustling of clothes and a light groan of someone in pain, laughter soon followed after. Bakugou pressed himself against the wall and slowly crept around the corner of the building, peeping on a scene of 2 university students bullying an individual that looked like a male teacher's assistant who was upside-down against the building. The student delinquents were visibly using their quirk on the assistant who was helpless against the two.

"Hey? What's going on here?" Bakugou made his way towards the group of delinquents.

One delinquent had light brown hair and had piercings on his nose and bottom lip.  
 **[Quirk: Pillar]  
** **[A pillar pops out from whatever the user touches. When user lets go of their touch, the pillar returns back to where it originated from as if nothing ever happened.]**

Another delinquent wore his sunglasses over his black hair.  
 **[Quirk: Flip]  
** **[When user touches a target, target flips upside-down.]**

"You want to use your quirk?" Bakugou spread out his arms, making himself appear vulnerable, "I'm right here."

Ignoring the assistant, Flip dashed towards Bakugou and reached out towards Bakugou. Bakugou used one of his arms to swipe Flip's hand away.

"Hah!" Bakugou laughed at the pathetic attempt of an attack, "…Huh?"

The next thing Bakugou knew, he was in headstand position. Bakugou had ended upside-down from his standing position. His head was unable to balance his body and his body fell over flat on his back.

" _What the…?"_ Bakugou stood back up took a leap backward and was on his guard. _"That guy's quirk tosses me around?"_

Pillar went in to punch Bakugou but was immediately countered as Bakugou grabbed Pillar by the wrist.

"What kind of lame ass punch is that?!" Bakugou growled at them, still angry that Flip had gotten the jump on him.

From Pillar's wrist, Bakugou used brute strength to lift him in the air with one hand and slam him onto the ground. Once Pillar's palm touched the ground, an Earthy pillar half the height of Bakugou popped out of ground. Bakugou heard the rumbling from beneath him and dodged the pillar from jabbing him in the stomach. He ran towards the teacher's assistant who was still against the isolated school building but too frightened to move.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" Bakugou gave him a good kick but the assistant was still frozen. "Tch. Coward"

Pillar and Flip made their way to Bakugou, both extending their hands out. Bakugou ducked both their strikes and now had the ability to counter them both from behind. As he got out of crouching position he turned around and brought his hand back for a powerful punch but instead met a pillar to his face, that came out of the school building.

Bakugou jumped back multiple steps to regain his standing, "You both got one on me. Scrub #1 over there has a quirk that tosses people around and Scrub #2 makes a block out of whatever he touches." Bakugou demonically grinned at them, "But what can I do?"

Bakugou extended an arm out to them and then flicked his finger. The sweat from his finger flew out far enough to reach Flip, Pillar and the assistant. Once the sweat made contact with the building behind them all, a small explosion sent them all flying forward.

"Grrrrh." Flip staggered up, "I knew you looked familiar, I saw you during the Yuuei sports festival. The guy who ranked number 1 in the tournament. Katsuki Bakugou!"

"Heh." Bakugou celebrated his triumph, "You lost the moment I caught you."

Pillar began to stagger up as well until he could finally stand properly, "You think…" He had to catch his breath. "You're special. You just happened to be gifted with a special quirk. Everyone with a crappy quirk like ours has no chance of becoming a hero. But I'll be willing to do whatever it takes for an opportunity to teach those special people a lesson."

Flip and Pillar looked at each other and then nodded, seeming to agree on something. They both pulled out a needle from their pockets, brought it to their neck and injected themselves. As the injection slowly began entering their body, their eyes seemed to lose any bit of sanity they had left.

" _Is that a drug?"_ Bakugou raised an eyebrow as the needles from both his enemies dropped from their hands and they stared at him with bloodlust.

Pillar slammed his hands against the ground and a pillar triple the size of Bakugou shot out beneath him, Bakugou sidestepped the attack but was caught off guard after a continuous string of pillars popped out.

" _Haha, no way! A quirk enhancing drug!"_ Bakugou aimed his hands at the pillars, causing an explosion around him which cleared all the incoming pillar and a smoky cloud to form. "Maybe now you'll put up a fight!"

Bakugou sensed Flip rushing through the smoke and shot out an explosion in his direction. Flip jumped and by touching himself, flipped in midair so that he would flip over Bakugou's attack and delivering a clean kick to Bakugou's shoulder. With immediate contact, Bakugou flipped on the spot 10 times before stopping and landing face first on the ground.

"That's your upgrade? Multiple flips?" Bakugou jumped right up, his head was still dizzy from all the flipping he experienced but when the effect faded away, wiped the dirt off himself.

"No surprise that a brat with a gifted quirk still looks down on us!" Flip charged at Bakugou to repeat his attack.

Bakugou used his explosive to propel himself upward, avoiding the attack and then clapped his hands sending a large explosion directly on top of Flip knocking him unconscious and focused on Pillar.

"Having a powerful quirk isn't the only thing that makes a good hero." Bakugou's mind flashed an image of Deku, "As much as I hate to admit it, the strong don't win all the fights, sometimes a well-thought out strategy is good enough. Hahaha, but too bad for you I'm stronger and smarter!"

"I wouldn't do anything funny if I were you." Pillar pointed to the teacher's assistant cowering behind him, "Or he gets it."

Bakugou didn't bother to look at the assistant or Pillar and instead, more focused on picking his ear. "Huh? Why would I care what happens to some stranger? Heh, I'm just a shitty brat, right? I don't care about hostages."

Bakugou closed his left eye, started extending his right arm, opened his right hand and put his left hand over his right wrist, trying to aim his attack precisely.

"Huh?" Pillar started to sound scared and nervous, "You don't care about hostages? You're no hero! You're a power hungry monster!" In a panic Pillar summoned more pillars out of the ground which charged at Bakugou from all directions.

" _Dammit, it's hard to aim without my grenade gauntlets. My quirk isn't meant for saving hostages but here goes nothing. Don't screw this up, Katsuki!"_ "AP (Armor-piercing) Shot: Auto Cannon!"

Bakugou's hand began to shoot out mini explosions which cleared all the incoming pillars, penetrated through to Pillar who started to scream in pain. The assistant crawled away from Pillar to avoid getting hit and turned the corner of the building, but continued watching the scene from a distance.

"About time you grew some! Now I can go all out!"

Bakugou ran up and grabbed Pillar who was still dazed by the mini explosion and threw him down to the ground and used an explosion on Pillar face which knocked him out.

Bakugou was panting, catching his breath. The need to aim his attack to avoid the hostage took a lot out of him. He spoke to an unconscious Pillar, "You're right. I'm no hero…not yet. That's why I'm here today."

"Th-thank you! You saved me!" The assistant's head was peeking out from the corner and before running off, told Bakugou, "I'll call someone over to apprehend these troublemakers!"

" _Even if I used violence, this counts towards my exercise right?"_ Bakugou got off of Pillar then stretched his arms _"I'm hungry."_

"Yoooooo Bakugou!" Yoarashi, who was now randomly wearing his full hero attire, stopped running as he saw the scene in front of him. "Whoa-ho, what happened here?"

"Oh, just some bad guys -"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh~ you beat them up?" Behind Yoarashi was the gothic girl who was pouting as she stared at Flip and Pillar, then the needles on the ground. "They even used the drug I gave them and STILL lost. Disappointing~ They couldn't even steal an exam. But they were weaklings, I expected as much. That's why I brought him along."

"Oi, Yoarashi look out! She's dangerous!" Bakugou pointed to the gothic girl who had a crazy killer face was holding a needle in one hand and was currently behind Yoarashi.

Yoarashi reacted to Bakugou's comment and quickly spun around to backhand the girl. She didn't react and Yoarashi's hand phased right through the girl.

" _What? Oh shi-"_ Yoarashi stopped thinking, the gothic girl with half white, half-black hair had injected Yoarashi with the quirk enhancing drug.

"Shhh~ Shhh~ It's all better now, the bad man is over there." The gothic girl pointed towards Bakugou who knew that he was definitely in danger.

"Oi! Yoarashi!" Bakugou called out towards him.

"Nope~ Nope~ He can't hear you. This drug not only enhances one's quirk but also makes them lose control while under the influence." The girl cackled, "And…I can't control him so…good luck!" and she left the scene, leaving Yoarashi and Bakugou alone.

The crazed Yoarashi and Bakugou had a stare down.

" _Not good. This is the guy who beat 120 applicants in under a minute!"_ Bakugou swung his bag off his back and reached for the zipper, _"If I'm going to beat him I need my grenade gaunt-"_

The next thing Bakugou knew, he was in the air pinned against a wall of the isolated school building, a quarter of the building had been clipped off and was launched into the air by a strong gale.

Bakugou was dumbfounded realizing that in the blink of the eye, he and the building were soaring through the sky, _"Ah crap…HE'S EVEN STRONGER NOW!"_

 **[Name: Inasa Yoarashi]  
[Quirk: Gale]  
[Newly Enhanced Quirk: Hurricane]**


	3. Gales, Tornadoes, Hurricanes

**"Hey. Is anyone here in need of help?"**

Those words set up the situation Todoroki was in. On campus, he was surrounded by 3 girls all fighting over way he could 'help' them.

"You can help me, by being my boyfriend~"

"No fair, he asked me first! And I would like to go on a date!" The female student tried clutching onto Todoroki's arm.

"You were quite cool in the Yuuei Sports Festival. I'd like to get to know you better. All. Of. You."

 _"W-what did I get myself into...?"_ Todoroki backed away from the 3 girls surrounding him like vultures but was still flustered with the intimacy, "H-hold on. These requests are unreasonable. Let's discuss this properly. I'm 16. I'm still in high school. I-it's not even legal. And...I don't think I can do this nor would my mind or body be able to handle it." Todoroki's cheeks were flushed and blocked his nose so blood wouldn't flow out.

"Haha, soooooo cute. I like how you're so innocent!"

The girls were all crowding around him, trying to grab a hold of him but Todoroki kept backstepping.

"Wait, stop!" Todoroki backed away. _"I have to get out of here before I do something I'll regret!"_ "I'm sorry I can't help any of you!"

Todoroki glided away using his ice quirk and soon enough the voices of crazy fan girls could not be heard by Todoroki.

" _Well, Mineta's_ _going to have a field day with this."_ Todoroki decided to imagine Mineta's reaction.

 **[** " **What?! You lucky son of a…Whatever, how'd the girls look?" Mineta would wink at Todoroki.]**

[" **You know; I happen to know a fella that is in dire need of a wingman."]**

[" **I would like 2 girls that are on a higher level than Yaoyorozu, no wait…make that 10 girls PLUS Yaoyorozu! GEHEHEheeeeeee!"]**

" _Note to self: Never tell Mineta about this."_

* * *

Bakugou gained his balanced on top of the building that was suspended in mid-air by Yoarashi.

"Like hell you're getting the better of me!" Bakugou jumped off the building and towards a flying Yoarashi. He clapped his hands together, "STUN GRENADE!"

A flash of light had temporary blinding anything in the vicinity, including Yoarashi's vision. Bakugou managed to land safely on the ground. Meanwhile, Yoarashi in a panic of not being able to see his opponent, used his newly enhanced hurricane quirk to send the building towards the ground where Bakugou was.

"Give me a break!" Bakugou roared as he built up enough sweat to explode the building into small chunks, trying his best to avoid any damage from falling rubble.

A dust cloud had formed around where Bakugou had been, Yoarashi halted his assault, thinking Bakugou had fallen. In the background of the partly destroyed building, voices of fear and panic could be heard. Classes had been taking place here but luckily no civilians were harmed in the section that was flown to the air.

"W-what the hell is going on?!"

"A terrorist attack?!"

"Nobody panic, heroes are nearby. Surely they'll save us."

"Eh, who's that in the air? Is that scary guy the one responsible?"

"Let's get out of here before he kills us!"

" _Ah, man. There are innocent people here? What a pain. I'm just no good at rescuing and protecting people."_ Bakugou panted heavily, still hidden in the dust cloud wreckage.

Yoarashi aimed his hand towards the crowd that had scattered out of the building only to stop and stare at him, their assailant. To the masses, he looked like a true villain. To the crazed Yoarashi, pests that were to be exterminated.

"Oh crap, he's aiming at us!"

"Run away! The heroes won't make it on time!"

" _ **Young Midoriya, young Bakugou. If you recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses, you two can become heroes who both win and rescue."**_

" _Be more like Deku? There's no way I would ever want to be like him, All Might."_ "ARMOR-PIERCING SHOT!"

Yoarashi had managed to protect the engine-looking gauntlet which helped with aiming his quirk. The explosive bullet was a direct hit on his right arm, which completely rendered Yoarashi's right arm a bloody, useless burden.

"Huh? Is there someone in the wreckage?"

"Hey, whoever you are, are you…a hero?"

"Damn right." The dust cloud cleared and there was a fully costumed Bakugou, equipped with his grenade gauntlets and officially ready for combat, "So don't worry. It's fine now. Why? Because I, Explode Kill King, am here!"

"Explode…kill…king?"

"Sounds like a villain's name."

"Shut up! It's my hero name!" Bakugou barked at them. _"Gah, this is why I hate rescuing!"_ "Now what are you still doing here? Run!"

The crowd of innocent bystanders had begun running away from the scene, still in fear but with faith that Bakugou would manage to defeat the villain, Yoarashi.

"T-th-thank you Explode Kill King! Kick his ass!"

"Don't let us down. We believe in you."

"Thanks for saving us!"

"Shut up! Leave!" Bakugou had the widest smile on his face, unseen by all eyes.

Everyone in the building had managed to evacuate safely and run away, far from the conflict.

"I've rescued everyone. Now I'll win, ya wind, gale, hurricane, air freak!"

Bakugou kept trying to fire explosive bullets at the flying Yoarashi who was now favoring his left arm. Yoarashi sent out miniature tornados out of each of his fingers, cancelling out the bullets and heading towards Bakugou like homing missiles. Bakugou jumped, ducked and then used his turbo boost to dodge the rest. In mid boost, he used his other hand to shoot more explosive bullets through his gauntlets. Yoarashi combined his mini-tornadoes to form one large hurricane which surrounded him like an aura, protecting him from Bakugou's attacks.

" _Yeah, it's not looking good. His hurricane quirk is one that can be used defensively and offensively. Even though I caught one of his arms, he still maintains good control over his quirk. And he's cancelling all my shots too. If I want to beat him, I'm going to need to concentrate my attacks-"_

Using his hurricane quirk, Yoarashi launched his body at supersonic speed and before Bakugou could react, Yoarashi's left hands palm had grabbed onto his face and forcefully pushed him down, face first.

" _He's insanely quick too!"_ More importantly, Bakugou had a more urgent situation on his hand, _"H-he's trying to suck out the oxygen, asshole, are you trying to kill me?!"_

Bakugou flailed his legs around and the hurricane aura surrounding Yoarashi kept sweeping away any sweat Bakugou had on him, so his explosion quirk couldn't be used.

" _Not like this. I can't die here!"_ Bakugou kept doing his best to struggle out of Yoarashi's grasp.

"Fire fist!"

Fire in a deformed shape of a fist flew towards Yoarashi and got caught up his aura which turned into a fiery hurricane. Yoarashi got off Bakugou and stopped, dropped and rolled before using his quirk to blow out the fire.

Bakugou stood up and coughed heavily, trying to inhale as much air as possible, "Where…*wheeze* were you?"

Todoroki landed beside Bakugou, he was in full hero costume and ready for combat.

"Oh sorry. I got held up by some fangirls."

"Subtle brag, you asshole!"

"Wow, there wasn't any indication that the prideful Bakugou had a thing for girls. That's quite unexpected. I'm proud of you."

"WHAT?! Just for that, after we're done with this gale freak. You're next, you 'Half & Half' bastard!"

"It's also good to know that you're alive and kicking Bakugou. But you can stand down now, the _stronger_ hero is here." Todoroki smirked at his classmate.

"Who?"

"Me."

Todoroki punched out both his arms, causing both his fire and ice fists to target Yoarashi. Yoarashi used his wind to redirect Todoroki's flames towards his ice, melting it. The wind then redirected the flames back at Todoroki, who dodged the attack by rolling away. While Todoroki's attention was focused on the redirected flames, a vicious tornado attacked from Todoroki's side sending him flying towards the torn building. Todoroki created an ice armor to which shattered upon crashing against the building but reduced the impact.

"Stronger, huh?" Bakugou chuckled at Todoroki who was imprinting against the building's exterior wall. "He never got a direct hit against me."

Todoroki groaned as he dragged himself out of the building and back beside Todoroki, "I would argue that his hand on your face, while you were on the ground…is a direct hit. But yeah, he got me good too."

"You got hit on his first attack. I'm gonna need you to do better than that." Bakugou told him.

"Need me? Are you…suggesting we team up? Are you okay? Is this Bakugou I'm speaking to right now?"

"Shut up! It's not a team up, we just have the same goal in mind and it's better that instead of getting in my way, that you be on the same page as me. Got it?"

"Got it…you imposter."

"Grrrrrrrr. Just to let you know. Some chick drugged the gale freak, enhanced his quirk and now he's a mindless, overpowered monster. He's nothing like what you've seen during the hero license exam. But don't worry, everyone should have evacuated the building, so feel free to go all out."

"Are you kidding me? I don't know if going all out would matter. He was as strong as me back then and you're telling me that he's gotten even stronger? We should call for help. I'll stall, you run."

"No way, we can take him. I've taken out one of his arms. Now give me your thermoses."

"You're going to drink MY tea and leave me to face him by myself?!"

"Ugh, just give me your thermoses! I've never met anyone as uncooperative as you."

"You're one to talk!"

Yoarashi landed in between the two of them. The wind pushed them away on opposite sides and Yoarashi, began his assault on Todoroki, believing he was the easier target. Todoroki sought to go on offense and put all his power into a fire fist but Yoarashi hid behind his cape which happened to be flame resistant then extinguished the flames.

"Do something!" Todoroki called out to Bakugou.

"I can't. I feel like he knows an AP shot is coming and when that happens, he'll deflect it at you."

"Then chase him down. He wants to separate us!"

Todoroki stomped his left foot and tall, jagged ice the height of the school building, popped out from the ground and towards Yoarashi who was flying on ground level. Yoarashi cockily did a barrel roll to dodge the attack and began flying even faster towards Todoroki. Todoroki began gliding away on his ice, turning the battle into an aerial battle.

"Here!" From above, Todoroki dropped his school bag which was full of thermoses from this morning.

"Bout time!" Bakugou caught the bag and pulled out each thermoses, emptying the contents.

" _Don't let Bakugou distract you!"_ It pained Todoroki to see his beloved tea being dumped.

Todoroki contained and concentrated the flames into his fist. The flames engulfed his entire right half. Unthreatened, Yoarashi flew closer to Todoroki sending another tornado his way.

"It's always tornadoes with you!"

Todoroki glided under the tornado and out of Yoarashi's sight. No knowing where his opponent was, Yoarashi strengthened his hurricane aura. Todoroki closed in on Yoarashi from behind, he entered into Yoarashi's hurricane aura, his clothes slightly shredding from the strong winds.

 _"With my old man's tough training. I never really thought of him as a hero. So I never told him who I really looked up to. Midoriya…I won't let you surpass me. I can't accept All Might leaving the future to you."_ Todoroki charged up his punch, he knew he would get a clean hit. _"And sometimes, you can't help but copy your heroes. Blazing, Tokyo, SMASH!"_

As soon as Todoroki's punch made contact with Yoarashi, fire began shot out and covered all of Yoarashi's body and continued to shoot out towards the torn school building. The building's remaining hallways were filled with flames which entered inside the classroom and a faint terrified scream could be heard.

" _W-what…? Someone's…still in there?"_ Todoroki immediately stopped shooting out flames, he ignored Yoarashi, his hands were shaking as he reached out towards the school building. "O-o-oi…"

"Why'd you stop?! Hey! Half and Half!"

Yoarashi though severely burned was still conscious and able to fight. He whipped his arm, towards a dazed Todoroki, sending his body flying to the ground alongside with a tornado that felt like it was ripping Todoroki's stomach apart, but luckily it didn't.

"Dammit, you didn't just stall for me, you had him! You coulda beat him!" Bakugou had been filling up all the thermoses with his sweat and tossed them all at Yoarashi.

Todoroki's attack had made Yoarashi sluggish and so, the quirk-enhanced Gale user couldn't react to the 9 thermoses that all appeared before him.

"Time bomb!"

On Bakugou's cue, all the thermoses exploded against a defenseless and defeated Yoarashi whose unconscious body descended towards the ground, landing with a thud. The screams could be heard from the building.

"Oh shi-" Bakugou had realized why Todoroki stopped his attack against Yoarashi. Bakugou's response was to dash into the building, find the person and rescue them away from the destroyed building. He carried a slightly burned, young male student in his arms and searched the rest of the school in case there were others, but it was just the one student. As Bakugou stepped out of the building, a wave of faculty supervisors, medical care and police had arrived at the scene. A few other students gathered behind them, the same students that Bakugou had rescue before, called for help.

* * *

The special course for the hero license exam continued on but through the entire conflict, Todoroki, Bakugou and Yoarashi failed the exercise anyway. Bakugou explained the situation behind Yoarashi's action and Yoarashi was then placed in extensive care to recover from the burns caused by Todoroki and Bakugou's time bomb. Todoroki and Bakugou, being students of Yuuei, were under the care of Recovery Girl.

"Bakugou look!" Kirishima showed Bakugou his phone.

There was an article with the headlines, 'Bakugou Katsuki (16), Yuuei's Explode Kill King saves hundreds from crisis at university' with a photo showing a wounded Bakugou standing tall and a defeated Yoarashi in the background.

" **Bakugou Katsuki, a young man with the Exploding quirk has stopped not one, but two crimes at once. The first incident where an assistant teacher was being harassed by delinquent students who had injected themselves with a quirk-enhancing drug. Bakugou's instincts lead him to the student club building where the assistant was being harassed and Bakugou had intervened. The second incident involving Shinketsu High's Inasa Yoarashi who had, against his will, been injected with the quirk enhancing drug and went berserk. This put the lives of those in the nearby building in danger but Bakugou heroically allowed himself to be a distraction."**

A couple of other students of class 1-A gathered around, reading the article on Kirishima's phone.

"Your hero debut!" Kirishima sounds really pumped, "Just imagine, the Red Riot and Explode Kill King dominating the news!"

"Hmmm, didn't Midnight-sensei ban you from using the name Explode Kill King? It doesn't sound like the name of a hero." Kaminari pointed out to everyone.

"Well it's too late now! Once it's on the news, the name is official!" Ashido clapped her hands together.

"Oh! Todoroki was there too!" Uraraka had begun reading the article in depth.

" **A student, who would like to remain anonymous was burned by the flames supposedly caused by one Todoroki Shouto who was also at the scene much later. Shouto Todoroki is the son of the newly named #1 hero, Endeavor. Since his inception of becoming a pro hero, Endeavor has not created a positive public image and the reckless actions of his son implicate that similar to Endeavor, young Todoroki does not have what it takes to become a true hero of the people."**

"What is this bullcrap!? All they're doing is talking smack about Todoroki!" Kirishima covered his phone away from prying eyes to read the article himself.

"The media is…quite cruel." Yoarashi cupped her lips with her hand.

"All they're doing…is speaking the truth." Todoroki sat by his desk looking disappointed in himself. "I burned the guy, my dad doesn't have a good image, I was reckless and I'm no hero because I failed the license exam."

"Todoroki, stop thinking like that!" Midoriya shook Todoroki's shoulders. "These people just want to make a story of the this. You can't listen to them!"

"Oi, Deku, stop it. The media can blame him all they want but the truth is I told him that the building was empty, without even checking it myself." The guilt hung over Bakugou's head. The articles may have said he was a hero but he felt like he had failed. It was not the flawless victory Bakugou hoped for.

"Still…don't people care about the truth?" Midoriya clutched his chest tightly.

The speakers in the classroom and throughout the school began to screech, halting all ongoing conversation.

"Katsuki Bakugou and Shouto Todoroki from class 1-A, would you please make your way to the Principal Nedzu's office?"

Todoroki and Bakugou shared a glance and then nodded as they both got out of their seats and made their way to the principal's office.

* * *

Todoroki and Bakugou stood in silence waiting for their intelligent mouse, bear or dog of a principal to speak.

"Of course I called you two here to discuss the recent incident. Yuuei has heard your side of the story and we understand that what happened is not your fault. We believe you did the right thing. That's why we and Shinketsu will both compensate for the destroyed building. However, everyone else thinks differently. If not for the burned student, Yuuei could have easily controlled the situation.

The moment those words left Nedzu's mouth Todoroki and Bakugou's chest tightened.

"The Hero Public Safety Commission explicitly stated for the exercise that violence was prohibited. By not following their rules and the damage caused, they have already withdrawn your entry for the make up exam. So you'll have to redo the entire exam the next time it is available."

"We understand principal." The two of them responded but it pained both of them that they would have to become heroes at a later time.

"Now for public relations. Bakugou to them, you're a hero in their eyes."

"I don't care what they think! That's bull!" Bakugou punched the principal's desk.

"That can't be helped, that's not how the media sees it and if you share some of the blame, they wouldn't entirely forgive Todoroki. Endeavor really isn't a popular hero. They can't punish him, so they are directing their anger towards his son. That's right Todoroki, you're a scapegoat in this situation."

"There are no benefits to being Endeavor's kid. Absolutely none." Todoroki shook his head and laughed at his own misfortune. "Bakugou, even if you told me that the coast was clear, it doesn't change the fact that I set a school building on fire. This is on me."

"Exactly. The public eye will stop at nothing to brand you unworthy of being hero. However, Yuuei believes that they are overreacting. Yes, you did harm someone during your heroics and you have a right to feel stressed but you got the job done. You two kids saved the lives of many that day."

"Th-thank you." Todoroki felt slightly relieved. With the words of Principal Nedzu, he began to think he was less deserving of a severe punishment.

"Grrrrrr." Bakugou less so.

Now for your punishment. Bakugou and Todoroki, you will be on house arrest."

"That's all!?" Bakugou didn't seem satisfied with his punishment.

"That's…not so bad." Todoroki felt like he could breathe easier after hearing his punishment.

"There's more young Todoroki, I'm sorry it has to be this way but for the rest of the semester you are to be suspended from all heroic Yuuei activities and field trips. You will not be allowed to exercise your quirk outside of Yuuei, doing so will result in a demotion into the general/support department or worse…we would have to expel you."

"Wait, the rest of the semester?! But it just started!" Todoroki knew he deserved to be punished but not to this extent.

"That's right, for the rest of first year, Shouto Todoroki, you cannot be a hero."


	4. Tough Love

**AN:** _Had this chapter ready for a while but I didn't release it until now. I thought it was short and was trying to extend it to reach a certain plot point but instead I decided to take it slow and split it up into two chapters._

 _And to be clear this is not a 'How low can Todoroki go?' type of story where things get worse and worse. I wouldn't dare do that to him!...Unless the plot calls for it._

 _Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

After hearing of the suspension, Enji Todoroki, the father of Shouto Todoroki also known as Endeavor the new number one hero, had made an arrangement with Yuuei to converse and meet up with his son to discuss the issue at hand. However, Todoroki knew that a meeting with his father would end up being more discipline than discussion.

"Ho! Fancy seeing you here Endeavor."

Endeavor turned towards the voice that sounded like All Might and instead came face to face with a blonde scrawny, lanky looking man.

"No need to put up appearances All Might. Or should I say…Toshinori."

"Appearances you say?"

"This. You. Talking to me. Don't act like we're equals anymore. You look pathetic."

"Be that as it may, I'm not here to talk to you as an equal. I'm here for young Todoroki's sake. I know the relationship that the two of you have and simply put, I can't trust you near him." Toshinori had bravely confronted Endeavor. A man who at this point would be able to squash him like a bug.

"You don't even have kids, All-…Toshinori. I wouldn't expect you to know a thing about raising them. A parent needs to scold and discipline their child when a mistake is made. If you think you can stop me, go ahead and try!" Endeavor continued on, purposely bumping into Toshinori and making his way towards his son.

" _I'll stop you from hurting young Todoroki, Endeavor. Just you watch. I'll protect him with my life if I have to!"_

* * *

"I'm trash…Utter trash."

"Hey, you're Todoroki Shouto from the Department of Heroics." Hitoshi Shinsou, the young purple haired lad with the brainwashing quirk, stared at Todoroki who huddled himself in a lidless circular trash can. "What are ya doing in there?"

"Hiding." Todoroki stared at the confining walls of the trash can instead of making eye contact with Shinsou.

"In the trash can?" Shinsou had heard of the incident involving that happened a week ago which involved Todoroki. Shinsou scratched his head, looking a bit annoyed with Todoroki's attitude, _"Why am I feeling sorry for one of the most privileged student in the Department of Heroics?"_

"Yeah, my father would never expect to find me in here."

Shinsou extended a hand out to Todoroki.

"Endeavor? Is he in Yuuei? Here, let me help you out of there. Can't keep the number one hero waiting."

"No thanks, I don't want your help…"

Todoroki's body froze and his eyes looked out of focus, dazed even, like he had no control over his own body.

"I figure you'd say that. That's why I brainwashed you." Shinsou smirked as he tapped his head, pointing to his brain. Shinsou looked like a villain but believed that his heart belonged to his ideal of heroics and justice.

Unwillingly and against his control, Todoroki stood up from the trash can and stepped right out. Shinsou snapped his fingers and Todoroki was no longer under his control.

"Ah, this isn't so bad. I'm still in the area occupied by those from General Department. This is where wannabes heroes end up. My old man wouldn't dare step in a place devoid of talent."

"Say what now?" Shinsou was bitter because he was a student of the General Department. He was one of those 'wannabes'.

"Well, at this rate…I'll also be one of those wannabe heroes. Maybe I should stay here. I can accept this is my life now."

"You're overreacting. I swear you were banned only until the beginning of second year. Students from the General Department don't even move up to Heroics until second year. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal; I am not okay with downgrading away from the Department of Heroics."

"Maybe if you got to know us 'wannabe heroes' you would realize that we work just as hard to become like you hero department students. We aspire to be heroes too, even if when there is a talent gap. There's nothing wrong with wanting to do good in the world."

Todoroki took a deep breath then sighed, "You're right. I was acting like a jerk and that's my mistake, I apologize. I was just preparing to act like a jerk for when I have to meet my old man." Todoroki pointed to Shinsou, "You. What's your name?"

Shinsou still hadn't forgiven Todoroki, "Shinsou, Hitoshi Shinsou."

"Shinsou, can you show me the life of a General Department student? I'm afraid to admit that I don't understand the life of a plain, ordinary people." Todoroki stared at Shinsou, expecting him to accept.

"You…" Shinsou angrily shook his fists, "Have no tact! Get out of here. Meet with Endeavor!"

"I refus-" Todoroki had unknowingly been caught by Shinsou's quirk. "Yes…" He nodded slowly.

Todoroki began walking back to where he was supposed to meet Endeavor in a zombified motion.

Shinsou's shouldered dropped and he lazily walked back towards his classroom, _"Endeavor can't be that bad. Though I guess any kid would be scared of their parent after being suspended. Still…what a spoiled pain in the ass..."_

* * *

"You idiot of a son!"

"Guh!"

Upon the two Todorokis confronting each other at one of Yuuei's gymnasiums, the conversation quickly went downhill. Endeavor had already struck his son in the gut, causing him to violently cough.

"You were made to surpass All Might. And yet, as of now, you've fallen behind on your studies. You won't even be able to surpass that green haired protégé of his."

" _Midoriya? So he's already aware of Midoriya's connection to All Might."_

"Shouto, it was foolish of me to expect anything out of you. At this rate, because of you, the Todoroki clan will always be second to people that have a quirk like All Might's."

"Heheh. Because of me?" Todoroki wiped the small amount of blood around his mouth. "It's not my fault that the gap between the former number 1 and 2 was so large. Unlike you, I still have a chance to be the top hero of my generation."

"You…insolent…" Endeavor sounded restless, the flames around him began to sway rapidly and soon Endeavor's entire arm was coated in flames.

"Violence again huh? Is that all you know? No wonder you get criticized by the public so often!"

Todoroki was terrified of the abuse his father would inflict for talking to him disrespectfully but Todoroki felt alive standing up to his father for the first time. Enji Todoroki had thought that his son was merely in a rebellious phase and he was correct. However, being the father that he was, he had no control over how this rebellious phase would mold his son. In this moment, Todoroki was free of responsibility. Being suspended lifted the veil of expectations he had being trying to live up to his entire life and so, there was no need to worry about disappointing anyone. The circumstances had changed, there was no need to have the same goals or aspiration as his father. If Shouto Todoroki had to, he could summarize the result of his suspension in one word; freedom.

Todoroki covered his entire left side in flames and right side in ice, "Do your worst I'm tired of hearing your yapping."

"This isn't yapping. It's tough love." Endeavor crept closer to Todoroki and struck to give his son a fire-filled uppercut.

Before Endeavor could inflict pain on his son, the flames of quirk died out and his entire arm was being held back by bandage wraps.

"Tough love? I don't care if he's your son. I won't let you touch any of my students that way, Endeavor."

Aizawa-sensei posed with his ever flowing bandages and goggles while standing by the gym entrance doors.

"G-g-good job, sensei! It's a good thing I called you." Toshinori gave his co-worker a lame thumbs up gesture as he continued hiding behind the gym doors.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you, Eraserhead." Endeavor warned him.

"No. I think this has something to do with me. Didn't I already tell you?" Eraserhead pointed towards Todoroki, "That's my student you're about to put your hands on."

"Ohhhh you're going to try and stop me. Is that it?" Endeavor chuckled to himself. "A hero teacher like you?"

"A hero teacher? What is that supposed to mean?" Aizawa asked the current number one hero.

"Well, you know what they say about teachers. 'Those that can't do, teach.' Just like how the retired All Might over there had resorted to being a teacher." Endeavor kept waving his fingers back at himself gesturing and taunting for Aizawa-sensei to fight him. "Come."

"You must be crazy. I'm not as bashful as you are. I just came to do what I needed to do." While still containing Endeavor with his bandage wraps, Aizawa sent out his other bandages to safely grab and drag Todoroki to him and away from Endeavor. "Now, your meeting is over. You're dismissed, Endeavor."

"Wait Aizawa-sensei. I still have some things on my mind that I'd like to say." Todoroki interrupted.

"What is it?" Endeavor raised an eyebrow.

"I may have been suspended. I may have accidentally burned an innocent bystander with _your side_. It may have been preventing if I used my ice powers and I do feel bad but…I still think I did the right thing."

" _Todoroki my boy, you're much stronger than I thought."_ Toshinori couldn't help but feel proud of him.

"And if the situation calls for it while my quirk is still prohibited, I'll take the expulsion. I'm not going to let the rules hold me back from saving someone's life."

Endeavor angrily stomped his way towards the door passing Aizawa, Toshinori and Todoroki on the way. "Hmph, do whatever you want. But you will regret it if you get expelled. There won't be a home for you to go back to. That is…unless you throw away your pride for me. If you do, then I'll put in a good word for you with Nedzu and the board."

As soon as Enji Todoroki was out of sight, a sigh of relief could be heard across the three.

"You had to grow up with THAT? How troublesome." Aizawa cracked his neck.

"Yup. I pretty much hate him." Todoroki said nonchalantly.

"I thank you for stopping by Aizawa." Toshinori bowed to him.

"Yeah. No problem." Aizawa scratched the inside of his ear, "How many times do I have to say it? He's my student, therefore my responsibility."

"Aizawa-sensei. All Might…Thanks." Todoroki said in thankful yet embarrassed tone.

"No problem." Aizawa humbly accepted his thanks.

"Look this might be hard to hear and I'm not saying you should go ahead and make up with him. But he is your father and when it comes to being a hero he does have some great advice." Toshinori explained to the young Todoroki.

"I understand that he's a great hero. There are some things I respect about him. But that doesn't change the fact that I hate him. If I want some hero advice. I have the experience of all the pro hero teachers here." Todoroki made his exit from the gym and decided to head back to his room.

"Well said." Aizawa nodded after Todoroki had already left. "Hmmm? What's wrong All Might?"

Toshinori was deep in thought before he finally answered, "I'm not quite sure how to put it…but I'm afraid young Todoroki is taking his punishment lightly. He didn't even think about getting bumped down to the general studies department. It's almost as if he's ready to be expelled."


	5. Money Makes The World Go Round

**AN:** _I feel like I've been putting on a coarse language filter. I mean there could be more swearing occasionally but not an excessive amount._

 _Second, this chapter (spoilers ahead) introduces an oc that will be relevant throughout the story. I'll try sketching the character and posting it...somewhere. (Suggestions on where?) But I will rarely introduce ocs as important characters because it's easier to recycle from the actual series since everyone should know who they are and what they look like eventually._

 _Anyway thank you for reading and read on!_

* * *

"Hey Todoroki! We heard Endeavor came to visit you. How did it go?" Midoriya was the first to greet Todoroki as he entered the dorm building.

Todoroki winced in pain as he hugged his stomach with one arm, "Heh, about as well as I expected but All Might and Eraserhead interfered before it got any worse. Anyway, thanks to that meeting I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"I still think it's unfortunate that you've been suspended from using your quirk outside of school!" Iida stated his opinion on the issue.

"Yeah…" Todoroki appeared to be in a somber mood after Iida's words.

"Now now, we should make the best of this situation. Let's have a party to cheer Todoroki up!" Kirishima announced at the top of his lungs that his voice had echoed throughout the entire building.

"I-isn't it kind of sudden?" As the vice president of the class, Yaoyorozu nervously looked around the room to try and get her voice across to everyone, "We should take a day or two to plan this out. We don't have the equipment, party supplies or the food to throw a part-…why is everybody looking at me?"

"Come on Momo, isn't this what your quirk was made for~?" Ashido swung her arm around Yaoyorozu.

"A-am I some sort of portable convenience store to you guys?" Yaoyorozu sighed, "I can't make everything you know..."

"Oh, don't worry. I can provide the music." Jirou began strumming an imaginary guitar, with her earphone lobes swinging along with her movements.

"And we already know that Satou is amazing at baking cakes!" Urakaka began drooling at the thought of tasting one of his cakes.

Midoriya began feeling a rush of jealousy, "Y-y-you know, I could bake a nice cake or two if I tried. I know how to use my eggs. I make a mean egg on rice!"

"Nice, Midoriya is volunteering to be our professional chef!" Kaminari winked and pointed finger guns in his direction.

"Don't put that responsibility on me! I said I could only make egg on rice!"

"Wah? You didn't say ' _only'._ " Kaminari replied back, looking dejected.

"See? Everyone can do their part, now Momo, the fancy part supplies if you please~" Ashido gleefully circled Yaoyorozu.

"I appreciate everyone's thoughts but can we do this another time?" Todoroki asked to his classmates.

A wave of gloomy emotions filled the room as they realize that Todoroki, the person they planned to throw the party for, declined the party.

" _Ah crap, they really wanted to throw a party. I don't want to be THAT guy."_ Todoroki tried to explain himself, "After meeting with my old man, I just have a lot to think about. Oh I know. Tomorrow. We'll do the party tomorrow."

Todoroki tried his best to lighten the mood back to its' original excitement.

Ashido, Jirou and Asui shared a glance and had thought of a cunning idea. Asui was the one to voice their thoughts.

"How about we all go out to sing karaoke? Ribbit."

"Oh that sounds great! He may not look like it but Kacchan is a great singer-"

Bakugou threw a couch cushion at Midoriya's head to interrupt his sentence, "Shut up Deku!"

"Wait, what was that?" Kirishima's ears perked up after hearing something amazingly unexpected about Bakugou.

"Shut up Kirishima! Don't answer him Deku!"

"Karaoke?" Todoroki pondered for a bit, "Yeah, I can do karaoke tomorrow."

Ashido clapped her hands together, "So it's settled. Tomorrow we'll all go out in the afternoon to the karaoke bar near the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!"

Operation: Cheer Todoroki Up via Karaoke Party was a go. Ashido, Jirou and Asui begun knocking on the door of the rooms of their fellow 1-A classmates. The wave of excitement had spread around the entire dorm and became the main center of conversation for the night. But little did Todoroki and Yaoyorozu know that the three girls were telling their classmates about a whole other set of plans.

And so, the day of the 'karaoke party' had arrived.

* * *

"…Where the hell are they?" Todoroki looked a bit disappointed when he opened the door to an empty karaoke room.

Yaoyorozu sighed, "I should have been suspicious once they told us to travel separately to the location instead of as a group."

Yaoyorozu's cell phone buzzed and she read the text message in her head.

" **We reserved that karaoke room just for the two of you. So have fun and enjoy your date teehee~ - Ashido."**

"Was that one of our classmates? What'd they say?" Todoroki slowly leaned in to try and sneak a peek at her phone.

Yaoyorozu had turned a shade of red at how close the distance between her and Todoroki was but more importantly, she quickly powered off her smartphone and placed it in one of her belt pockets away from Todoroki's prying eyes.

"There's been a change of plans. They woke up and suddenly everyone wasn't feeling karaoke. So it's going to be a dorm party later at night. They want us to get supplies on the way back."

"Bummer. Well, there's no point of staying here any longer. The mall is right beside us. Let's go get the stuff then head home." Todoroki quickly tried to make the best of their situation.

" _Yes, there's no point in staying here but..."_ Yaoyorozu pretended to check her phone and scroll through messages, "Mina told me she already paid and reserved the room, it'd be a waste of money if we didn't try it!"

"Waste of money? Aren't you rich? You could just pay her back if you feel guilty. Come on, no one's coming. We should just hurry this up."

" _Todoroki, you idiot! Am I that repulsive? Can you not stand to be alone in a room with me? Wait…alone…in a room?"_ Yaoyorozu's cheeks were flushed and lightly clapped her cheeks many times, _"Momo! Why are you getting nervous? You don't even like him, he's just a classmate, a friend."_ Yaoyorozu paused her thoughts for a moment then lightly banged her head on a nearby wall. _"But we'd still be a boy and a girl alone in a room together!"_

"Yaoyorozu?" Todoroki bore witness to Yaoyorozu's internal struggle which to him consisted of multiple pained-looking facial expressions. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…I was just amazed you think I don't value money. We should still do the karaoke." Were the only words Yaoyorozu could muster up and respond with. _"Do you feel nothing Todoroki?! How oblivious can you be? How can you look like your stupid typical calm self and here I am having an internal meltdown! I bet you're so calm because you do this all the time you…you…womanizer!"_

"Ah, sure. If you insist I won't decline you any further." Todoroki accepted Yaoyorozu's invitation because after feeling guilty since she looked disappointed when he kept declining. _"Yaoyorozu, what are you doing?! I tried giving you an out! Do you not know what it means for a boy and girl to be alone in a room together?! There's a limit to how sheltered one can be!"_ Yes, Shouto Todoroki may have looked like he was calm and unaware of the situation but on the inside he was panicking just as much as the girl beside him!

" _Maybe once we're inside and sing a few songs, things will be back to normal."_ Yaoyorozu kept trying to reassure herself, _"This isn't a date. It's just a one on one hangout between two friends. Who just so happen to be boy and girl."_

Yaoyorozu started to sweat nervously, she had realized the flaw in her train of thought.

Yaoyorozu slowly turned towards Todoroki who noticed something was up, "I-I-I can't sing. What about you, Todoroki?"

"Nope." Was how Todoroki answered back. _"YES."_ He celebrated internally and took this chance to turn things around. "I guess that means we won't be doing karaoke. Oh no, what a shame."

"Haha…Silly me. I'll just text Mina and apologize that we didn't use the room." Yaoyorozu chuckled. "But since we're already here. We should just do the shopping for the party supplies."

"Sounds like a plan." Todoroki agreed and they heading off towards the nearby Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall.

" _It'd feel like an actual date if we decided to continue on with the karaoke."_ Yaoyorozu smiled as Todoroki walked side by side with her. _"Something short and simple like this is fine too."_ Yaoyorozu caught on to what she was thinking stopped herself from admitting anything, _"I-if I thought of him that way!"_

* * *

"Puu." Ashido sat on the couch of the lounge floor, blew a raspberry and closed her phone after reading a text she had received from Yaoyorozu. "Looks like they're not going to be singing karaoke. But they're still spending the day together!"

Midoriya tapped her shoulder, "Ashido…I don't think you can just force people's love life. It should just happen."

"Ohohoh~ And what does little Midoriya know about love?" Ashido teased and she kept prodding him in the shoulder.

"H-huh?!" Midoriya's face was pink and kept touching his face with both hands. "I don't know anything; I don't feel anything! About anyone!…Please don't press on anymore."

* * *

"I don't get it." Todoroki looked at all the shopping bags gripped by his fingers. "Can't you just make this stuff?"

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were sitting on a bench in front of fountain that was in the middle of the mall.

"I can't just make stuff out of thin air. Besides, it's much easier to just buy the supplies." Yaoyorozu explained to him.

"Easier? You should be training with your quirk anytime you can." Todoroki was bothered by Yaoyorozu's explanation.

"Do you use your fire to cook food? Do you melt your ice to make water? It's kinda like that. Even if we have the quirks. Sometimes it's just nice to have things be done another way. Sometimes you can't rely on your quirk to do everything. All quirks require stamina, so if we run out, we have to be knowledgeable about other possible solutions. Look at All Might. One day he's the greatest hero and the next day, he's…just a normal guy."

Todoroki looked at his friend in awe, "Wow, I didn't know you thought of things like that. I was just bothering you about it because I had something selfish to ask."

"What's wrong, Todoroki?"

"Haha…I don't know how to say this. But during the incident…Bakugou used my thermoses to make time bombs. So I was kind of hoping…"

"No." Yaoyorozu crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. She was embarrassed that she had said something serious and profound but more so, clearly hurt that her created gift ended up as shrapnel on the same day it was given.

"Yeah I figured as much."

"Honestly, a girl gives you a gift and what happens to the gift? You make it explode!"

"Actually it was Bakugou…not me."

"Don't care~" Yaoyorozu laughed, dropping the act that she was angry, "I'm kidding, don't worry about it. Making something like that is child's play. But I'll only give you one thermos, you better take good care of it!"

"Yes ma'am." Todoroki nodded his head, _"I still feel bad about breaking it. I wonder how I should pay her back."_

"Now if you excuse me for a moment, I have to use the washroom." Yaoyorozu turned around meekly, "Y-you better not be imagining anything dirty!" and walked away, trying to find signs that directed her to the nearest washroom.

Todoroki looked blushed while looking insulted, _"Who am I Kaminari or Mineta?!"_

Todoroki continued sitting on the bench. Not a minute passed when Todoroki heard a voice whisper behind him.

"Bang."

Todoroki heard a stranger's voice beside him and after, felt a pair of hands grab onto his shoulder.

" _Who?!"_ Todoroki tried to stand up and turn around but his hands were stuck to the bench he was sitting on. So he turned around his head around to see a teenaged girl, slightly older than him, wearing frilly gothic clothing and striped stockings, her hair was half-white, half-black.

"Ya-ro~!" Her voice was playful and energetic.

"Who are you? I assume you're the reason I'm stuck to this bench?" Todoroki gave her a dirty stare.

"Correctomundo!"

"And what do you want?"

The girl put the tip of her index finger in her mouth, pondering her thoughts, "Hmmm. Nothing. I'm just here to tell you that there's going to be some berserk idiot who takes a quirk-enhancing drug soon, Shouto Todoroki."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Todoroki raised his eyebrows. _"This is bad. She knows who I am."_

"Ummm ya-roooooo?" She knocked on the skull of Todoroki, "Anyone thereeeee? The incident at the university silly. You got suspended, while fighting some guy who was injected with the drug."

"Wha- how do you know about that? That information was kept confidential from the public."

"Oh. Hmmm. Mmmm. HNGGGGG." The strange girl tried desperately to think of an acceptable answer but instead just laughed awkwardly, "I don't know any way to say this without looking like the bad guy but… it's because I'm the one that injected that Wind quirk user."

"You what?!" Todoroki growled at the girl. "There's no way for you to sound like a good person!"

"Whoa there. Y-you can't use your quirk! That's against the law!" The girl stopped Todoroki before he took any reckless action.

"You're one of the last people that's allowed to say that! And is that why you're not afraid of being so close to me?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow, "Because you think I'm afraid to use my quirk?"

"Hahaha~ no. I'm not afraid because you CAN'T use your quirk." The girl urged him on, "go ahead, try."

" _She's right I…can't? No wait. I just can't use my hands. I can still use my quirk if I put the strength into my legs. But she thinks I'm vulnerable so I'll play along."_

"Ya-rorororo? Awesome! Looks like I was spot on! Your quirk is activated through your hands. If it was your feet and hands, then I would have been in quite the pickle."

"Alright, we've confirmed I'm a hostage. Let's go back to talking about that incident. Why did you inject Yoarashi?"

"Well, my employer wanted me to test out the drug AND target Bakugou without injecting him with the drug. My employer knew that he failed the provisional license exam and knew when he would be at the special course."

"Employer?" Todoroki looked confused and decided to get as many answers as he could. "Who? Why?"

The strange girl paused for a bit, thinking out loud, "Hmm…is it…alright to tell you?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess it is! The best way to guarantee repeated business is to have the customer trust you~ So here's my introduction. My name is Shina!"

"I don't care…just tell me what you know." Todoroki interrupted before he received a long backstory.

"Sheesh. All business I see. Alright, since you're a first time customer, the information is free. But next time you need my assistance, I expect to be paid."

"I'm never going to ask for your assistance after this. Tough break for you."

"Hehehe! Ya-rorororo~…we'll see about that."

"So? About your employer?"

"Oh right. My employer is…the League of Villains or as some people like to call it, the Villain Alliance."

"That's it, I've heard enough." As Todoroki was forced to sit on the bench due to her unknown quirk, his feet were slowly creeping out ice towards her.

Shina immediately noticed and jumped back, keeping her distance from Todoroki but he was still stuck to the bench.

"Whoa-rororo? Hey! What's the big deal?!"

"You're a part of the league!" Todoroki kept his voice hushed to not alert any attention from shoppers.

"Ahem first of all, you, my faithful new customer…are wrong." Shina shook her head, "You should let people finish talking before you rudely interrupt. You know what? Just for that, either you pay me or we're done here."

"You've got to be kidding me." Todoroki felt exhausted talking to her, but she had the advantage. _"As a member of the League of Villains, I wouldn't put it against her to take a random civilian hostage and if I'm caught using my quirk outside of school, they'll demote or expel me."_

"No? Alright. That's all you're gonna get outta me. See ya! Ya-ro!" Shina was ready to walk away.

"Wait!" Todoroki tried to reach for his wallet but remembered that his hands were unable to move and stuck to the bench. "I'll pay you. But can you free my hands?"

"Pft!" Shina laughed at him while covering her lips with her fingers, "I thought you said you were never going to paid me. But anyway, I can't just let you free. You might do some criminal things to me. So I'm just going to reach around until I find your wallet.

After searching Todoroki's pockets, she found his wallet and took what she deemed to be an appropriate payment, returning it back to his pocket.

"Ugh…I feel like I've been mugged." Todoroki was embarrassed after Shina felt around looking for his wallet. "Well I've paid, continue talking."

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, my employer for this incident at the university was the League of Villains. As for why I'm telling you this, I'm not a member of that Villain Alliance and what not. I'm a…contract worker? A free lancer? No wait, a mercenary! That sounds much cooler and stronger!"

"Uh huh, why would they hire someone? You would expect a Villain Alliance to probably have plenty of people to choose from."

"Plenty? Oh no. The League of Villains is smaller than you think. In this particular case, from what I've heard, the League is trying to expand their alliance with some other former Yakuza group. They wanted someone to test the product out but couldn't risk their own members handling a potentially faulty product if said Yakuza group were to sabotage them."

"And that's where you come in?"

"Correctomundo! You're so smart!" Shina snapped her fingers then pointed at him. "The product being the quirk-enhancing drug known as Trigger. So I sell it to desperate people, and record the effects of the drug to the League once they inject themselves. Surprisingly, a lot of people within 30 minutes of buying Trigger tend to try it out, meaning I don't have to wait that long to record the effects."

"This sounds confidential, are you sure that you should be telling me this stuff? Didn't they tell you to keep quiet about this? They probably paid you to keep quiet." Todoroki asked her, still finding it difficult to believe she was telling the truth.

"Yeah, my additional payment was that I could use Trigger anytime I wanted…as long as I still recorded the effects. Yay…woo." Shina cheered sarcastically then stomped her feet against the ground like a kid, "I want money!"

"Hmmm." Todoroki still seemed skeptical.

This odd girl wearing frilly goth clothes was essentially a criminal and here she was, spilling the beans on her incriminating job, to a student from Yuuei no less.

"Th-then…" Todoroki was trying his best to muster up the words, but he had to know. He wanted to know the truth behind what changed his hero life. "What's about the incident? What does injecting Yoarashi have to do with targeting Bakugou?"

"No." Shina was stern, shutting down his question with one word.

"Huh? What do you mean 'no'?" That's my classmate, my friend that they want. They've kidnapped him before; you're trying to tell me they're still after him? If I wasn't there, Bakugou would have lost to an enhanced Yoarashi...That you caused by the way! Are they trying to kill him now?"

"I've changed my mind. I won't talk about this. It's nothing that important anyway." Shina locked her mouth and threw away the keys.

" _I highly doubt that."_ Todoroki pleaded for more information, "I'll pay you, take whatever's in my wallet."

"Nghhhhh." Shina's fingers teased like they were reaching out for the wallet but in the end she had the willpower to resist temptation.

"Dammit, I paid for the information. I've listened and done everything you've told me. I need to know the truth behind my suspension!" Todoroki from his seat, used his feet to send some ice towards Shina's way.

Shina sidestepped and was standing right behind Todoroki and the bench.

"Now, now. There's a time and place for everything." Shina whispered in his ear, "And right now, this isn't the right time, you aren't allowed to use your quirk."

Shina pulled a hat and a mask from the backpack she was carrying and gave it for Todoroki to wear.

"But you won't get caught if you decide to hide your face, so here. I'll tell you another time." Shina winked at him, "Gives us another reason to meet. But right now, the money you've paid is only good for a bit of information, plus that hat and that mask."

"I don't need a hat…or a mask." Todoroki replied back to her, still frustrated she wasn't answering his question.

"You will when that cute precious friend of yours is struggling to defeat an enhanced villain and needs to be saved by a certain dashing, handsome yet mysteriously masked hero."

" _She knows that Yaoyorozu's here?!"_ Todoroki struggled to get off the bench, "What did you do to Yaoyorozu?"

"Nothing. _**I**_ didn't do anything to her." Shina pulled out her phone, looking at the time, "It's been about 30 minutes since I sold the Trigger to my last customer. He should be using it aaaaanytime soon."

"Wait, were you just stalling me?" Todoroki snarled at her. _"This damn crazy, villainous bitch!"_

"Well, it was nice meeting you Todoroki, hope to do business again." Shina ignored his question, "You have my contact info, so call for me anything. Ya-ro~"

Shina waved him farewell, making a run for it before Todoroki could get a word in and soon enough after she was out of his sight. Todoroki's hands were free from whatever spell she had him under and stretched his body, looking at his hands.

" _I never learned why she confronted me. All she did was reveal who she was and extort me. What was her reason? And what about her quirk? It felt like my hands were superglued to the bench, my quirk wouldn't even activate from my hands. When Bakugou told me 'some goth chick' was the one that drugged Yoarashi, didn't he say her powers made her phase through Yoarashi's arm? But Shina said she injected Yoarashi. If both are telling the truth, does that mean she's a dual quirk user…like me?"_


	6. Secret Hero

**AN:** _Last chapter of this Todoroki suspension arc, after this we are onto bigger things_

* * *

" _Argh, Todoroki where are you? I texted for help a while ago and he still hasn't shown up."_ Yaoyorozu thought as she used her bō staff to fend off her opponent in an alleyway a small distance away from the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall.

Yaoyorozu was looking down the alleyway at a young male adult wearing steampunk goggles with short spiked up hair. Behind that man was a little girl hugging a green mochi plushie toy. The man had taken her hostage and was chased down by Yaoyorozu until they came across this very alleyway.

" _If Todoroki was here I would just need to distract him while Todoroki grabs the girl to safety. But that's a lot harder since he's powered up. Is this one of those quirk enhancing drugs that everyone's been running into lately?"_ Yaoyorozu tried analyzing her surroundings.

"I told you. It doesn't matter what you do." The hostile man pointed to his goggles. "You're too slow to handle my Sight Speed.

 **Sight Speed: [** _User's moves extremely fast by having their body gravitate to a place that the user sees within their line of sight. Must keep eyes open to move. Can crash into things. Beware of wind and other objects coming into contact with eyes_ **].**

* * *

Shina was watching the scene from a far away rooftop unbeknownst to anyone and recording what she observed.

Shina stared at a vital of the Trigger drug and sighed. "What's so good about artificial strength anyway? Well whatever, easy pickings for me! Alright Hideo, you're subject #97. Let's see what you can do against a first year Yuuei student."

* * *

After his encounter with Shina, Todoroki waited on the bench for a good minute for Yaoyorozu to return and after a bit checked his phone to text her. His eyes widen as he read the messages.

" **Help**

 **Little girl**

 **Hostage**

 **Back alleyway."**

" _She ran into a villain? That explains why she's not back yet."_

As he looked at his phone, he received a message from an unknown number. The message was an emoji with a winking smiley face.

" _Who?..."_ It took a while for Todoroki to realize who messaged him. _"Shina. Ah man, she must have beamed our phones together and gotten my contact info when she searched for my wallet."_

" **You will when that cute precious friend of yours is struggling to defeat an enhanced villain and needs to be saved by a certain dashing, handsome yet mysteriously masked hero."**

" _This crazy woman has my number now too?_ _No. Now is not the time. I have to find Yaoyorozu. I'm not sure how I can help without using my quirk though."_

* * *

Yaoyorozu tried throwing a net to capture Hideo but he used his Sight Speed to move out of the way and behind Yaoyorozu. He looked at her back and activated his quirk, appearing right behind her from thin air.

" _This guy. It's almost like he's teleporting."_ Yaoyorozu reacted to his movements and swiped her bō staff in his direction.

Seeing her staff coming, Hideo looked beyond her shoulder and at his hostage, knocking Yaoyorozu over and ended up right beside the little girl.

"Even if you go for the hostage, you're just way too damn slow." Hideo taunted Yaoyorozu. "Hey girl trying to play hero, you can't beat me. But if you need some Trigger, I can hook you up."

" _I'm still…not good enough. Even after everything I've experienced at Yuuei this year, it's still not good enough to beat a thug on the street?"_ Yaoyorozu stared at the little girl who was hugging her mochi plushie tightly and closed her eyes because she was too scared. _"There's no point being all depressed. Look at that little girl. She's scared out of her mind. She needs me right now. She needs me to be the hero she thinks I am."_

Hideo looked at Yaoyorozu's shoes which brought him right in front of her. He crouched, going for a punch at her gut. But Yaoyorozu backstepped and swung her staff at him but he avoided the attack by looking up, directly at the open skies. He ended up in the air slightly above the alleyway rooftops.

"Hahaha! Wow I can travel through the air too. Nice…nice! This Trigger is great stuff." Hideo looked ahead, at all the rooftops he could easily travel to in this moment for his escape. "I can make a run for it anytime I want. But it's not as satisfying as seeing the face of a hero who failed to do their job."

" _He's coming back down. It's now or never."_ Yaoyorozu stared at Hideo. _"He's looking straight at me from a bird's eye view. He's going to attack from an angle difficult to defend from, which means he's going to appear behind me."_

Hideo looked behind Yaoyorozu, appearing behind her.

" _Now he thinks he has the upper hand and is going to strike."_

Hideo put his all into a punch aimed for Yaoyorozu.

" _It's game."_ Yaoyorozu, as she was not in her hero costume, emptied her jacket pockets, dropping all the flashbang grenades she had created.

" _This bitch! If I close my eyes I can't use my quirk. If I try to move to a location, I'll be blinded."_ Hideo stopped his punch midway and was trying to think of the best way out of this.

" _Set."_ Yaoyorozu motioned her bō staff directly backwards. Without looking at her enemy, her staff jabbed at Hideo's chest, causing him to cough out in pain.

In his pain, Hideo's eyes remained open. The flashbangs went off blinding him but not Yaoyorozu, who closed her eyes the entire time.

" _Match."_ Yaoyorozu smacked Hideo a few more times for extra measure than created a rope to tie him up.

" _I have to give you props girl. I underestimated you."_ Hideo slowly regained his vision and before Yaoyorozu could finish tying the knot, he stared down the alleyway and used his quirk to slide across the ground but away from Yaoyorozu.

"No way…But I…" Yaoyorozu was shocked that after everything she did, she managed to let the villain go.

"It was a good plan but…" Hideo pointed to his steampunk goggles. "With a quirk like mine, I'm bound to have the rays of the sun blocking my vision. And so, with these goggles, those flashbangs of yours don't last as long as they normally would."

"But I made multiple…"

"And? That doesn't change a damn thing. But I'll admit, you're smart not smart enough to knock me out cold but anyway, I don't want to fall for another trap."

Hideo set his sights on his hostage, the little girl and grabbed her. She flailed and cried, trying to kick him away but Hideo held on. Hideo looked to the rooftops, bringing his hostage with him threatening to drop her off.

"But I can still enjoy myself as I see the despair of a hero, watching as they're helpless to save a victim from the grasps of a villain."

Hideo grinned and dropped the girl. She was in freefall with onlookers on that street watching the little girl screaming and crying at the top of her lungs.

" _I'm…too far… I won't make it in time."_ Yaoyorozu ran at full speed, even though if it appeared to be hopeless. _"Someone…save her."_

"Bang." A voice inaudible to all except the owner of the voice herself.

The little girl's head and body was stopped in mid air and her arms and legs flailed about until she regained herself. The little girl was floating in midair as if she were levitating. Her eyes were looked teary, her mouth stop open from crying but no sound, not a move from the little girl who suddenly was suspended in the air. The little girl looked like someone frozen in time, someone in stasis.

" _H-huh? What in the world?"_ Yaoyorozu felt relief, knowing she would be able to catch up and save the girl.

"The hell? Why isn't she moving?" Hideo commented as he stared at his suspended hostage.

"Dunno. But pretty soon, you won't be moving either."

Hideo looked behind him and was staring at a person wearing a beanie cap and a fox mask. "Who-"

"Freeze."

Hideo found himself trapped and frozen to a large amount of spiky ice, as tall as the building he was standing on.

" _Well…I caught the guy and used my quirk."_ Todoroki touched his hat and mask. _"Hopefully no one recognizes me. But I wouldn't have made it in time to save that girl. So who did?"_

Todoroki looked around as he was standing on the rooftops and saw someone waving at him. He squinted his eyes, noticing that the person had black and white hair.

" _Shina? Did Shina…save the girl?"_

The girl was broken out of her midair stasis and began crying and screaming again. Yaoyorozu caught the girl using a safety net and then brought her back to the ground.

"Don't worry you're okay now." Yaoyorozu hugged her and returned her mochi plushie.

The masked Todoroki landed beside Yaoyorozu and the little girl. "I caught the bad man. He won't hurt you anymore."

"Who…who are you mister?" The little girl spoke for the first time, curious to know the person who stopped her abductor.

"It's Shou-" He stopped himself. _"Shouto is my pro hero name but I'm not a pro hero. I'll have to think of a new alias."_ Todoroki lightly scratched his mask, thinking of a name. "Yukihira. The name's Yukihira."

Yaoyorozu crept up and whispered in the ear of 'Yukihira'. "Todoroki!? Is that you?!"

Todoroki removed a bit of the mask he was wearing revealing a nervous smile underneath, "Yeah…it's me."

"What are you doing?! You can't use your quirk!"

"I can if they don't know it's me."

"That's cheating! If the school rules were the law, what you're doing right now would be considered illegal!"

"Well," Todoroki dragged Yaoyorozu by the clothes of her arm, "Before I get caught doing something illegal and before any witness takes a picture of you, we have to get out of here. If our classmates see you and an ice quirk user save the day they'll know it was actually me."

"And who's fault is that?!"

* * *

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu returned back to their dorms, the Height Alliance building and were celebrated upon return. The class party could finally start. They quickly decorate the common floor lounge room and tried to enjoy themselves to bowls full of egg on rice courtesy of Chef Deku. After a tiring day, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu headed to their rooms early and soon enough the party came to an end, with most of class 1A falling asleep in the lounge room with Kaminari and Mineta tied up before they could do anything shady.

Todoroki got off his bed and walked down the hall. He knocked on the door of Yaoyorozu's door.

"Can I come in?"

" _W-w-what?"_ Yaoyorozu was rattled from Todoroki's sudden request. "Can't we talk in the lounge or the hallway?"

"No. It has to be somewhere where we can't be heard."

" _Why?! I've had enough heart attacks today Todoroki!"_ Yaoyorozu was reluctant but turned the knob and slowly opened the door. "It's a bit cramped but here's a chair to sit on."

Yaoyorozu sat on her bed while Todoroki sat on a chair. The room was silent for a moment, like they were both gathering their thoughts on what to say.

Yaoyorozu broke the silence "Today was…interesting."

" _She doesn't even know about Shina."_ Todoroki replied back, "More than you know. Can you imagine if we did karaoke?"

"Haha, well we still sang karaoke during the party."

"Not us though." Todoroki corrected her. "But I came here to talk about that villain we both fought."

"Yeah. You…"

"I broke the rules."

"What are you going to do if they find ou-…?"

"And I'm going to break them again."

"What…It wasn't a one-time thing!? But if you're caught you'll be demoted down or worse, expelled."

"That's initially what I was worried about too. But when I fought those that villain, while hiding under a mask and secret identity. I just felt…so alive. Like I could escape from being Shouto Todoroki. I know I'm asking a lot out of you but still…can you please keep this a secret?"

"I kind of have to. Things wouldn't be the same if you were expelled from Yuuei…" Yaoyorozu took a pause, "My lips are sealed."

"Thanks Yaoyorozu." Todoroki gave a rare smile.

"But if everyone finds out…it won't just be Tsuyu disappointed in you, it'll be the entire school."

"Well this is my decision. I'll live through with the consequences. Everyone here came to do one thing. To satisfy their dream to be a hero. I don't want to fall behind everyone else. I don't want to watch and do nothing, not when I'm this strong. This will only be during the time I'm suspended. But until then I'll have to hide under the mantle of the ice quirk vigilante, Yukihira."


	7. Partner

**AN:** _Not sure where to store my pictures and so for now, the cover photo will be Todoroki's Yukihira, vigilante attire. (I'll hopefully do better when I obtain PS)_

* * *

Todoroki stayed in his room lying on his futon and staring at the ceiling.

" _Now that think about it...Being a vigilante with a secret identity is a lot harder than I thought."_

Todoroki picked up the beanie and fox mask Shina had given to him.

" _It's hard to see and breathe out of the mask. Plus, this hat is really tight, my hair can't breathe in this but…if people saw my hair it'd be pretty obvious that I'm Yukihira. White and red hair split down the middle isn't exactly common._

He then touched the burn over his left eye.

" _And I need the mask for this scar. And the fact that one eye is blue and another is grey. Hmm, my face is weird now that I think about it…wait…do people find me…ugly? This is terrible. Ahhh, I'm so embarrassed."_

Todoroki looked at the mirror in his room and touching his cheeks and eyes.

" _I've been walking around with THIS face? With a face as weird and hideous as mine, it'd be easy to distinguish who Yukihira was without a mask. Yeah that settles it, I really do need a mask. Huh, Shina really thought out the hat and mask when she gave them to me. She expected me to use them. I'm playing right into her hands. But I'm going to head out and buy a new costume, I really don't like this mask or hat."_

Todoroki opened up his closet, picking out his casual clothes for the day and began to get dressed, picking out a hoodie so he could put the hood on to hide his face.

" _Wait, Yukihira is an ice quirk vigilante because using both of my quirks would also make it too obvious. That means…I can't melt the ice after a battle. Wouldn't that be problematic for everyone else? There would just be a bunch of towering ice in the middle of the streets. Either I leave it as is, hold back my powers or I need a second person there to pretend they have a heat quirk. Simple enough, I know just the person to ask for this._

* * *

"You-have-got-to-be kidding me." Yaoyorozu had just woken up. She had a bad case of bed head and was currently in the middle of brushing her teeth. "I said I would support your decision of becoming a vigilante, not support alongside you."

"Please Yaoyorozu." Todoroki groaned.

"There is a problem with having blocks of ice obstructing the roads but it can't be helped.

"It can be helped; I can melt it."

"You could just melt it in secret, or hold your powers back. Oh…Oh I see now." Yaoyorozu smiled and began poking Todoroki in a teasing, playful manner. "You don't need a partner; you just _want_ a partner."

"Huh?!"

"And so, you came crawling over to me." Yaoyorozu was having fun with her assumption.

"Wrong." _"I didn't crawl."_

"Oh? Well out of all the things that would restrict you from becoming a vigilante, leaving ice behind after a battle is the least of your worries. Yet here you are, looking for a partner."

"Because I can't ask anyone else except you. No one else knows my secret. Everyone from our class would think I'm being crazy."

" _I_ think you're being crazy!"

" _Our class? Huh."_ Todoroki made his way for the door. "Fine, I'll find someone who's not crazy."

"You're going to drag someone else into this mess? Todoroki, just work solo."

Todoroki left Yaoyorozu's room, shutting the door behind him.

Yaoyorozu sighed, _"I have a bad feeling about this whole thing…And why was he covering his face the entire time?"_

* * *

Todoroki peeked his head into an unfamiliar classroom that had just finished their optional weekend class. He cupped his hands together brought them up to his lips and called out.

"Oi. Oiiiiiii."

No response.

"Hey Shinsou, I think someone's calling out to you." The classmate pointed to the door where only Todoroki's head was visible.

"Yeah I'll pass on…" Shinsou was dumbfounded, "whatever that is."

"You sure man? The way he's just staring, it's really creeping me out. Wait, that's Todoroki from the hero course. What does he want with you?"

"I really don't want to find out." Shinsou waved his hand, signaling his friend to ignore it.

"But this is a top student from the hero course! It'd be rude to pass on what he wants to say."

"And why do I have to feel honored that someone our age, wants to talk with me?" Shinsou was getting annoyed, "You know what? Fine I'll talk with him."

Shinsou stepped out the door from inside the classroom and into the hallway to confront his visitor.

"What do ya want, Todoroki?"

"I have a proposition for you." Todoroki told him.

"…" Shinsou looked at Todoroki who was staring at the ground and made hand visors. "Why are you covering your face?

"I looked in the mirror recently and have come to the conclusion that my face looks weird."

"Are you kidding me? I'll smack you. Stop covering your face, you look normal. Don't make me brainwash you."

"Yes, that's exactly what I need!" Todoroki pointed at Shinsou.

"You…want me to brainwash you…?" Shinsou tilted his head in confusion.

"No. I need a quirk like that. If I'm going to have a partner that can pretend they have a fire quirk, then their real quirk should be one that can't be easily detected."

"Partner?"

"The last time we talked, you said that you were aspiring to get into the hero course. And that by the time you did get in, you'd be in your second year."

"Yeah, I've accepted that. So what?

"That would mean you'd be entering a class full of people with a year of hero experience behind them."

"I mean, if I'm in the hero program by next year, there's at least one person without a year of hero experience." Shinsou pointed to Todoroki, "You."

"Not traditional experience anyway. But I can offer you a chance at some heroic experiences to prepare yourself for when and if you move up to the hero course."

"What are you, an infomercial? Sounds sketchy."

"I'm…" Todoroki paused for a moment. _"What am I going say? No matter what I say…it just won't sound right. But this guy…someone like him…he's in a situation worse than mine. He can't even learn how to be a hero. Now that I'm thinking about it more and more…he might be the perfect partner."_

" _What does someone like him, want with someone like me?"_ Shinsou wondered as he waited for Todoroki to gather his thoughts.

"Despite my predicament, I am…still trying to be a hero. If you ignore the barriers that society has placed around you; you, someone who has only has ever dreamed of being a hero can be one, right here, right now…if you become a vigilante. A vigilante…like me."

"Heh…what? A…vigilante? Heroes that don't abide to the laws. Isn't that forbidden? It's as forbidden as your suspension!" Shinsou stared at Todoroki, Todoroki's stance did not budge. _"Todoroki…he's serious."_

"It's okay if you say no. I'll trust you with my secret."

"Why me? Aren't there others in the hero course you can ask?"

"They have no reason to break the hero regulations just to team up with me."

"Bakugou doesn't have his license either right? Can't you ask him?" Shinsou kept trying to think of reasons for Todoroki to ask someone else.

"…It's Bakugou."

"But you don't even know me. You said everyone in the general department was a wannabe hero devoid of talent."

"I was wrong. You aren't devoid of talent; I've experienced your brainwashing multiple times in that one meeting. And as for being a wannabe…" Todoroki chuckled, "Wannabe heroes are exactly that, they want to be heroes."

"And what is there for you to do when you become a vigilante? The heroes are doing the same thing you are but better and with a larger network."

"They can't do everything. Judging from the past 2 incidents I've been a part of. I'll be tracking down the distribution of Trigger and hunting down the users."

"Trigger? What's that?" Shinsou asked Todoroki. Unaware, that the more questions he asked, the more he was buying into Todoroki's offer.

"It's a quirk enhancing drug. You use it-"

"By injecting yourself with a needle filled with some strange vial?"

"Yeah. You've heard of it?" Todoroki was surprised, no non-hero student should have been exposed to Trigger.

"I…I have it."

"WHAT?" Todoroki's hand began to frost.

"Whoa calm down. I think that everybody in the general department secretly received this 'Trigger drug' that you're talking about."

"And how is that supposed to calm-?!" Todoroki had been shut up by Shinsou.

"Here's the story. One day, in my locker I found a box. Inside the box was a message telling me I could get stronger by injecting myself with this weird needle and one vial. My friends received the box too. So it's safe to say that most, if not all, of the general department students have one."

"Did you contact the teachers about this?"

"Are you kidding me? I am literally in the possession of an illegal drug!

" _Trigger has already made its way inside Yuuei? How? Did Shina just gift everybody a Trigger? No…she's too prideful about money for her to ever do that. But I'll text her and hear her opinion on this. Get ready to pay out of your pocket Shouto."_

"Since I didn't report the possession of this drug right away, there's definitely going to be a punishment waiting for me."

"And you're trusting me with this information?" Todoroki asked him with a smile.

"Aren't you trusting me with your whole vigilante shtick?"

"Hah…mine?"Todoroki brought his arm out for a handshake.

Shinsou gave Todoroki the handshake he asked for. "You cheeky little-! Fine, our vigilante shtick, partner. We have the same goal. I want to track down where the hell this Trigger came from too. And you know, if it gives me a chance to be a hero, I can have a trial run by being a vigilante."

"So it's settled then, partner." Todoroki tried to hide his smile but was failing badly. "Let's head to the dorm. I've already started writing ideas on how to deal with this Trigger outbreak."

"Is a general department student even allowed at the Heights Alliance?"

"Sure they are, let's go."

"Fine, fine. Lead the way."

Todoroki and Shinsou began walking down the hallway and towards the dorm of class 1A. After finally teaming up there was an awkward silence between the two.

"Hey you. What's your name again?"

"You bastard…this entire time? IT'S SHINSOU!"

* * *

"What the hell happened here? It's so messy."

Todoroki and Shinsou were inside the dorms, it was the night after the party and since it was still early in the day, everyone was either still sleep or too lazy to properly clean up and luckily, Iida wasn't even awake to scold them.

"There was a party." Todoroki explained.

"Why are those two tied up?" Shinsou pointed to Kaminari and Mineta.

"…They can't be trusted."

"Hey Todoroki, little help?" While Mineta was asleep, Kaminari had woken up but was still tied up with rope while in a rubber strait jacket created by an unwilling Yaoyorozu and suggested by Jirou.

Todoroki kneeled down and started to untie Kaminari from this rubber hell.

"Oh Todoroki, you're gonna wish I stayed tied up. Poor little Jirou is still asleep." Kaminari's fingers began creepily wiggling.

"Stop."

"Why would I-"

Todoroki turned towards Shinsou, "Thank you."

Shinsou broke Kaminari out of his brainwashing, "No problem."

"Oh hey, is that what it feels like to be hypnotized by Shinsou?"

Shinsou stared daggers at Todoroki, "He knows my name."

"…" Todoroki stayed silent.

"What are you doing here man?" Kaminari ignored taking action on Jirou and decided to initiate conversation with the two instead.

"Todoroki invited me over, is that okay?"

"I don't know. It's cool with me. But everyone else? They'd probably be afraid of you, your quirk screams more 'villain' than 'hero'." Kaminari awkwardly explained, trying his best not to hurt Shinsou's feelings.

"We're here to take down villains. If Shinsou does anything funny, we'll take him down." Kirishima punched into the palm of his other hand.

"I'll join in." Ojiro was acting hostile around Shinsou.

"Maybe it's best if I just leave right now." Shinsou rubbed his arm, he was afraid they would suddenly attack him out of fear.

"That won't be necessary. Deep down, Shinsou's a good person. There's no need to be scared of him." Midoriya had stepped down to the first floor for some breakfast.

"It helps that he's here with Todoroki." Kaminari pointed to Todoroki. "He can handle Shinsou all on his own."

"Wha?" Midoriya shot his head at Todoroki, "Did you make a friend all on your own Todoroki?

By his own classmates, Todoroki was seen as the strong, cool but unsocial type of student who didn't initiate any conversation. The type of person who only obtained friends if someone went to talk to him first.

"Yeah, he came to bother me about something. Sounded interesting, so here I am." Shinsou told Midoriya.

"Haha, wow. That's new. Slowly, you're growing, Todoroki." Midoriya gave a kind smile to Todoroki as he patted Todoroki on the shoulder.

Todoroki lightly slapped away Midoriya's hand, "Sorry, Midoriya. Not now." _"I can't help but be a little mad at you."_

"Todoroki? Did I do something wrong?" Midoriya was concerned about Todoroki's sudden change in attitude.

"One-…Nope, never mind." Todoroki began heading up the stairs and towards his room to discuss his vigilante plans with Shinsou. _"Not only are you a better person than I am, but right now, you're a better hero and in the grand scheme of things, I just can't help but feel threatened by someone with One-for-All. I wish I could shake this feeling off… but I have no idea how._

* * *

Meanwhile, in some dark, secretive, underground, run down bar. Kurogiri warped himself in with a certain half white, half black haired girl.

"Shigaraki, is it true?" Shina was interrogating the villainous man with multiple hands grabbing onto his body. Tomura Shigaraki, the person in question was sitting comfortably on his personal sofa chair. "I have a contact that told me Trigger is being distributed to the lower students of Yuuei now?"

"Hah…" Shigaraki groaned from Shina's annoying questions. "You scheduled a meeting for this?

"Damn right! Well? Are you going to answer me, Shigaraki?"

"Is it even a big deal? This is what we want. If it comes out to the public that under the supervision of the 'great' All Might, Yuuei students are taking an enhancement drug, the world is going to flip its' shit."

"It is a big deal! You're giving a drug to…to…kids."

"And what's the big deal? I still don't see it." Shigaraki squinted his eyes. "Careful on what you say, Shina."

" _If I sound anymore sympathetic for the heroes…he might just kill me."_ Shina gulped, "I-if people hear kids are getting this drug for free, then that's just bad for business. People will demand the product for free."

"Then we'll say it was a free trial or something. I don't care. The only one that cares about money…is you." Shigaraki pointed at her. "Trigger isn't even our product, it's that Overhaul character's."

"B-but…"

"That means once this whole Trigger story arc is done, it's game over for you."

"Unless I join the League?" Shina had her cheerful, smiling persona on. "Sorry~ But I enjoy being a mercenary. Joining the League isn't profitable you see."

"Hehehe, then can I go all stabby stabby on her?" A blushing Himeko Toga asked Shigaraki while panting quite loudly. She was holding her knife, practicing her stabs.

"Hah! You?" Shina smirked at the only other girl in the room, "You couldn't lay a finger on me last time."

"Nghhh." Toga snarled back. "You cheated by using your quirk! You and that phasing of yours."

"You're embarrassing yourself Toga."

"S-shut up Dabi! You're lucky I don't kill the ones with a face as messed up as yours!"

"Now now." Kurogiri tried to calm down his fellow villains.

"Is that all you want Shina? I've answered your question. That was a waste of time."

"No. I have one last question. Who's the one that gave those kids the Trigger?"

"Who? Hahahahaha. Ahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh MAN!"

Everyone else in the League of Villains hideout was silent as they listened onto their leader's laughter.

" _I don't get it…what's so funny?"_ Shina's felt a sweat drop from her forehead.

"Why, our secret member. My third in-command. HaHahaHAHA. Everytime I think about it; it just makes me laugh that we managed to pull it off." Shigaraki was still trying his best to hold back his laughter. "Chehehehehe."

"Ah yes, you people haven't met _that_ person yet." Kurogiri spoke to the other members of the League of Villains.

"A-and…how did this person get close enough to distribute the Trigger to all those students?" Shina was starting to get afraid of knowing the answer.

Shigaraki got off the couch and slowly walked over to Shina. She froze up at the sight of his hands reaching over. Shigaraki grabbed both of Shina's cheeks with one hand.

"Before I answer these annoying questions of yours. Answer mine first."

Shina could smell Shigaraki's terrible breath but that was the least of her worries. Right now, she was just happy that he hadn't disintegrated her yet.

"About this contact of yours, the only way they could know this information is if they were involved with Yuuei. If they're with Yuuei, does that mean _you're_ with Yuuei? Are you going to relay this information back to that suspicious contact of yours? Because if you are, then Shina, I don't like having a traitor in my midst. I'd have to get rid of you."

" _S-shit…did I…mess up?"_ Shina was shaking in fear. In the clutches of Shiragaki, she could die in this instant.

Shina regained control of herself and phased her entire body so Shiragaki couldn't grab onto her. She then took a step back to explain herself.

"Wait!" Shina was panicking, panting louder than Toga was. "I'm not a traitor! My contact…is just a previous client of mine. The person asked me for information. I have no intention of telling my contact anything about the League of Villains. I was just curious because it had the chance to cut into my Trigger business!"

"Hah…Oh Shina. Shina, Shina, Shina. I'm only telling you this because I want to trust you. That trust is why you're even allowed a glimpse at the hideout. You are a valuable asset to the Villain Alliance, whether you like it or not. I don't care who your contact is, tell them! Have them squirm! Have them doubt their fellow 'heroes'. I want them always be looking over their shoulder! I want them to know that at anytime, they could get stabbed in the back from the person they least expect! From the person they most trust! The game is much more interesting that way! I hate having a traitor in my midst, but when it's me with a traitor in their midst? It's so much fun, so fun that I can't help but die with laughter! So here's the answer to your fucking, stupid question. How did my third in-command get close enough to distribute the Trigger to all those students? The answer is simple because…they're also a Yuuei student."


	8. A Vigilante's Perspective

"Yuki, what's the situation?" As someone who was talked into becoming a vigilante, Shinsou was too lazy to think of a costume and decided to wear the beanie and fox mask that Shina had originally given Todoroki.

Yuki was the vigilante name of Todoroki, who was symbolized he was the ice quirk user of the duo. While Shinsou's name was Hira, which symbolized he was the fire quirk user. Of course, the name was just a diversion to throw people off. Shinsou couldn't use fire, it just allowed for Todoroki to use both fire and ice quirks without giving away his identity which worked well because Shinsou's quirk was undetectable through sight alone. Together they formed the vigilante duo, Yukihira.

"The target is in the park and has yet to use the Trigger. But he's beginning to get suspicious because the park is clearing out. Hurry it up." Todoroki was wearing his new vigilante costume and was high up from a vantage point, looking down on the park while talking to Shinsou on the phone.

Only the sound of water splashing from a nearby fountain and the leaves rustled whenever the wind blew were heard as Shinsou was getting people to leave the park and get them away from harm.

"Umm…excuse me." Shinsou approached each person within the vicinity of the park.

And the moment someone responded, they were under Shinsou's control. He directed them all civilians away from the park and with all the people following some strange masked person, from an outsiders' perspective it just looked like some strange cult.

"Okay, you're good to go." Shinsou spoke into his phone.

"Well, no matter how aware he is now, it's too late." Todoroki clashed his fire and ice together to shroud the park in a thick mist. Todoroki dropped down from his vantage point and touched the target, instantly freezing him. Todoroki then stripped the target of his Trigger and destroyed it with his flames.

"So we're just going to leave him in that ice? He could freeze to death." Shinsou pointed to the person they had apprehended.

"We're leaving it to the police. We caught the bad guy before he used Trigger. That's all that matters." Todoroki walked ahead of him.

"But Yuki, he didn't use the Trigger. Other than the Trigger we just destroyed, there's no evidence that he did anything wrong."

"I'm not going to stake someone out, just to wait for them to harm someone. There's no evidence that this person was going to cause harm others. But I don't want to wait for that evidence. Him buying that Trigger means he had the intention, which is good enough for me."

"People might need see it that way. We can't be seen as heroic vigilantes if we keep catching people who look like they've done nothing wrong. In fact, I'd argue we're beginning to look like villains. We've been vigilantes for three weeks and in that time, we've only stopped one legitimate threat, that Sight Speed Hideo person…and that was you by yourself! The other 6 people we've stopped have been in possession of Trigger but we destroy that evidence before the police gets their hands on it!"

"I'm hearing you Hira. Gimme your Trigger, we'll plant it on our latest target."

Shinsou or rather Hira, gave Todoroki the trigger that was lingering in his pocket. Todoroki then walked back to their target and placed the Trigger into his pockets.

"Now it just looks like we're framing the guy!" Shinsou facepalmed his mask. "Next time and from now on, just leave the Trigger with them, please."

* * *

"Look, these guys made the news again!" Kaminari alerted everyone in the classroom as he scrolled through his phone reading the headlines.

In the photo, featured a hooded figure wearing a tattered up black coat, and a thin face mask. Beside that was another person who was wearing a beanie and fox mask. Together, the two people in the poster posed with one hand on the large piece of ice which encased a person who was assumed to be a villain.

"Yukihira again?" Jirou was shoulder to shoulder with Kaminari reading off his phone which made him turn a shade of red from the contact.

"Yukihira? The fire and ice vigilante duo that's been making waves roaming the streets lately?! Midoriya analyzed the vigilantes and rambled on to himself whilst writing in his notebook, "With their fire and ice quirks they are said to create a thick mist. Allowing them to appear out of nowhere and take away the use of their opponent's sight-"

"There he goes, nerding out again." Bakugou didn't really care for their conversation and turned his head in the other direction.

"Hmmm. Isn't it strange?"

"What is it Iida?" Uraraka asked.

"Those people call themselves vigilantes but were previous targeting random civilians or those in possession of the quirk enhancing drug.

"They might have some vendetta against the drug. They remind me of you. I wonder why that is." Yaoyorozu nudged Todoroki who was calmly sitting by his desk.

"It's because they of their ice quirk and fire quirk. But I don't care about this 'Yukihira' duo. It has nothing to do with me." Todoroki tapped the back of his right hand onto Yaoyorozu's cheek and then whispered in her ear. "Not."

"Ahhhh, cold! Okay, okay! Sorry." Yaoyorozu pushed his hand away and rubbed her cheeks to warm up.

"Back when the quirk outbreak happened, vigilantes were normal. Society had to go undergo changes and the result of that, was the regulation of heroes. As much as it's nice to see people doing good in the world. They're from a time long ago. Now they're just heroes who weren't qualified by hero standards or people that don't wish to abide by the law." Aizawa broke the glorified illusion of vigilantism. "I mean, I'm fine with having a moral code and all but heroes are not above the law."

"It's fine isn't it?" Todoroki got out of his seat and confronted Aizawa . "There are some heroes that follow the law and aren't all what they seem." Todoroki was referring to Endeavor.

Iida added onto what Todoroki said, "And the Hero Killer, Stain, was saying that there are some heroes that only care about glory, money and popularity.

"But at the very least, those heroes are registered, qualified professionals that are allowed to take action!" Aizawa retaliated, continuing this argument with Todoroki.

"And vigilantes provide help for the public. It's like volunteer work." Todoroki rebutted.

"Like The Crawler, right?" Midoriya was well aware of vigilantes and even looked up to some of them.

"Vigilantes are unsanctioned. If they cause trouble, they can choose to not take responsibility for their actions. To maintain order there are heroes and the police force. Vigilantes are neither of those, they're just people who weren't allowed to be heroes!" Aizawa sighed and cracked his neck, "Look Todoroki, I'm not discrediting the importance of the deeds that vigilantes such as Yukihira have done. I just want you to know that there is always a risk factor when it comes to vigilantes. It raises the question of 'why don't they just become certified heroes?' And when you delve down to it-"

"A person has the option to be part of the police force or a certified hero but instead they choose to be a vigilante. A blatant reason would be that think they're above the law…right, Aizawa-sensei?" Midoriya continued on his teacher's train of thought. "And so far, the actions of Yukihira have been pretty reckless, I'd say."

"Midoriya…If I recall. You saved Bakugou from a sludge villain. You weren't a hero. You didn't have a license. Because you couldn't help but stick your nose in to save somebody. You could have been hurt or worse, that in itself is the definition of being reckless. Vigilantes think like that too. They can't help but be heroes in their own way. You don't know their circumstances. Their intentions and actions of goodwill should be enough!" Todoroki lost his cool, he was no longer his typical calm self. Being a vigilante himself, he had a good reason for taking part in the discussion.

"Wow, sounds like as a little kid, when things went sour with your dad, you rejected the idea of being a hero like him and instead, had thoughts of being a vigilante." Kaminari tried to give a reason for why Todoroki was so investing on the topic of vigilantes.

"Maybe he just felt a connection with Yukihira. Ya know, with the fire plus ice quirks and all." Kirishima chimed in.

Todoroki had trapped himself. By vouching for vigilantes there was a growing suspicion from his classmates.

"I…I...It just felt like before the provisional license exam, since we weren't certified, we were all vigilantes in our own way. Hahaha…" Todoroki let out a light chuckle. _"That was a terrible lie."_

"You know what'd be cool?" Mina skipped right over to Todoroki and stared him straight in the eyes, "If secretly, you teamed up with one of your siblings and were masquerading around as Yukihira! One half is ice! The other is fire! So cool!"

Todoroki's face froze. He broke out in a cold sweat and then robotically turned his head towards Yaoyorozu, who had the same fear filled expression as he did. Silence filled the room and it gave time for everyone think about what Mina had just said.

"But nah! I just don't see it. There's no need for you to become a vigilante. You're basically a shoo-in to be a pro hero!" Mina laughed to herself.

Iida spoke up, "That's right! Class! There's no need to doubt Todoroki. Through and through he has proven to be a hero beyond all else. I will not tolerate this topic any longer."

Aizawa-sensei glanced over at Todoroki, _"All Might, you were right. Ever since his suspension, Todoroki has been acting differently."_

" **It's almost as if he's ready to be expelled."**

" _And now he's here, defending the vigilantes? This is out of character for him. I don't like it this feeling. I'll keep an eye out in case he is related to this Yukihira character."_

* * *

At midnight, Todoroki had decided to sneak out of Heights Alliance after receiving a text from Shina. It was late enough in the night that his classmates had already gone to sleep or huddling inside their dorm room. He had to tiptoe as to not alert any of his classmate with his sudden absence. And the moment he left the building, a voice called out to Todoroki.

"What could you be doing this late at night?" Aizawa stood by with his arms crossed like a parent ready to discipline their child.

"I could be asking you the same time. I'd expect you to already be asleep. You love your sleep."

"Don't be cheeky with me Todoroki. Just answer the question."

" _Damn. I've been waiting three weeks for Shina to respond back on how Trigger could get smuggled into Yuuei! The day she's finally ready to tell me and Aizawa-sensei is on me like a hawk. If I play it off as a coincidence and go back inside my dorm for the night, then I might lose my chance on obtaining the information. If I go to Shina, then Sensei's going to be suspicious, hell, he might figure everything out on the spot!"_

"Well?" Aizawa was getting impatient, he was now tapping his finger as his arms remained cross. Clearly he just wanted to go to sleep but making sure his students didn't misbehave was on a higher priority, he didn't want another incident like when Midoriya and Bakugou fought.

"Uhh…" Todoroki was thinking of which approach to take.

"Am I interrupting something here?"

"Yes, I was in the middle of-"

"Now, you must be incredibly tired, go to sleep."

Aizawa suddenly started headed back to room on another area of the Yuuei campus without a complaint.

"Thank you, Shinsou. I had no idea what to say to him." Todoroki appreciated the effort of Shinsou's good timing.

"You were going to say an unbelievable lie, that's what. Now let's go meet that contact of yours. I've been waiting to hear their answer."

Todoroki took one last look at his teacher who was still forced to follow the command Shinsou had given him. _"You're already suspecting me, looks like I'm losing your trust. But you have to trust me that this information is going to be for the greater good. Sorry…Aizawa-sensei."_


	9. Traitor

"This is where your contact told us to meet? It's an ambush waiting to happen."

Todoroki and Shinsou had ventured into a small forest on the outskirts of town in the middle of the night. It would be difficult to see anything if not for the flashlight feature on their phones. But Shinsou had decided to wear his vigilante mask to conceal his identity with this informant.

"Yeah, she chose the perfect spot to counter my flames. I wouldn't want to cause a forest fire now, would I?"

"And you trust this person?"

"Not really. But we're no closer to finding who has been distributing the Trigger around school."

"Great. So we're in the middle of nowhere; no one has any idea where we are and here we are, waiting for some untrustworthy source."

"Ya-ro~! You called for an untrustworthy source?" Shina proudly had her hands forming a peace sign over her eye. "So this person is your partner?"

"Yeah…I don't trust her." Shinsou whispered into Todoroki's ear.

"Hmmm. This doesn't look like Yaoyorozu." Shina actively began scanning over the masked Shinsou, flashing her own light over him. "In fact, 'she' looks like a he."

"Because I am a boy." Shinsou assured her.

"Too bad. I was totally expecting a vigilante couple." Shina pouted as she stared at Todoroki's male partner.

"Oh! You're hoping for Yaoyorozu too?"

Shinsou and Shina were becoming giddy about Todoroki's love life. Shinsou etched closer to Shina, ready to gossip.

"Ahem." Todoroki cleared his throat.

"And there's the party pooper." Shina stuck her tongue out at Todoroki.

"Wow, that's coldhearted. Pun intended."

Shinsou was typically being dragged along with Todoroki's whims but Shina's presence changed that. This was where Shinsou could get back at Todoroki.

"I apologize but I came here to do business. You're free to gossip on your own time. Now, any leads about how Trigger entered Yuuei?"

"Yeah about that…" Shina glared at Shinsou. "Is this kid from Yuuei too?"

Todoroki nodded his head. Upon his answer, Shina's playful personality along with her smile, went away.

"Then…" She paused. "Sorry, but I can't trust you."

Shina made her middle and index fingers touch together and she pointed her fingers at Shinsou like she was imitating finger guns.

"Boom, headshot. It's a direct hit."

Shinsou's body from his neck-down turned limp and looked lifeless.

"W-w-what the hell did you do?!" Todoroki was agitated and prepared to fight Shina. He should have known better than to rely on someone who worked for the Villain Alliance.

"Relax. He's fine. It's just my quirk, Body Stop. Wherever I point these fingers of mine, it shoots out a strange signal. It causes the target's limb to go into stasis, suspending any movement. So your partner over there, by shooting his head, his brain is unable to send signals to the rest of his body."

"What? That doesn't sound like a normal quirk! That goes beyond the capabilities of a quirk. It's like magic. Stopping time itself?"

"There's a person who can travel by creating a warp as long as he knows the coordinates, they don't even need to have visited that location before. That sounds like instant travel from a video game. But there's more to my quirk than just that."

"More?!" Todoroki had come to learn how dangerous the person that stood before him was.

"Body stop also makes it so that you can't move after being hit. If you jumped and I shot your hand, you wouldn't be able to land. You would be anchored to that hand in midair until I let go of my fingers. Like I'm stopping the time around the limb that I hit? Instead of Body Stop, I guess it'd be more accurate to call it limb stop."

"Sounds complicated."

"It is. As if I would understand the first thing about stopping time. I just shoot things and they freeze on the spot."

"Shina, why are you telling me this? You'd have a significant advantage over me if you didn't."

"You're a fellow dual quirk user. I have phasing and body stop, you have fire and ice. That's enough to interest me." She looked away, _"And I am responsible for getting you suspended."_

"Yeah, well I'm interested in hearing why you froze my partner."

"But you're not going to like the answer. Once I heard the reason, it took before a while to decide if you should hear it or not."

"Try me."

"Yuuei…has a student that works for the League of Villains. Shigaraki called the student his third in-command."

"A…student? Like…a spy? A traitor?" Todoroki's body froze up in a way that couldn't be warmed up by his fire. "WHO?"

"I don't know. Only he and that warp hole guy knows." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Then ask him again! Get closer to him! Then tell me!" Todoroki started to demand of her.

"Forget it! I almost got killed because I was meddling around! If you want find out, then you get closer to Shigaraki! I'm already on their bad side now! He knows that I have a contact with someone from Yuuei!" The thought of what had transpired weeks ago still shook Shina to this very day.

"Dammit! So you suspect him?" Todoroki pointed to the masked Shinsou who was still frozen in time.

"I don't even know him. It's up to you whether you trust him or not. You can tell him everything afterwards."

Todoroki was ready to answer back but Shina stopped him, inputting more of her thoughts on the situation.

"But after weeks of thinking it over. If it's a student, then we have to narrow it down to a first year student at Yuuei. After all, didn't villains attack your class at USJ? The news was all over it. It's what put your class on the map."

"They also attacked us during a school trip. No one knew the location until we arrived and only the two hero classes participated."

"Wooooow, that spy of theirs really hates your class."

"Or…" The thought of it made Todoroki's heart sink. He mustered up the courage to say it out loud, "They're from my class."

Shina tilted her eyebrows as she pointed at Shinsou, "What about him?"

"He's not from either hero class. He's a general department student."

"Ou ou ou! Shinsou! Is this person Hitoshi Shinsou?!"

"H-how?!"

"He was the only one to stand out in that sports festival! Who could forget the quirk to brainwash others?! I'd get him to command my customers to buy my entire stock! Can I keep him? Please? Pleeeeeease?!"

" _He's not a dog."_

"But you know that quirk just screams 'villain' doesn't it?" Shina's body was shaking uncontrollably. She was very eager to befriend Todoroki's partner now that she knew it was Shinsou.

"Yeah but you shouldn't discriminate someone due to their quirk."

"Yeah yeah. So that's all the only lead I have for you. Good luck. I'm getting him go now."

Shina let go of her index and middle fingers touching and Shinsou was broken out of Shina's Body Stop. Shinsou regained consciousness, as if nothing ever happened. To him, no time had passed.

"We've been waiting for a while now. Tell us the information you have regarding Trigger." Shinsou shivered and he tried to make his demands. _"Why is my body cold all of a sudden?"_

"She already told me everything she could. You were just frozen in time…it's complicated," Todoroki tried to explain.

"Huh? What? She did?" Shinsou was confused, reasonably so.

"I did. Now, payment if you will." Shina brought her hands out, expecting money.

"Pay…ment? Hey Todoroki, the hell is this woman talking about?"

"Oh…I actually forgot to bring money." Todoroki had a cheeky smile on his face. Deep down he was nervous, wondering what Shina would do now.

"How can a rich kid from an elite family never have any money?" Shina was visibly upset.

"I carry cards on me. Not cash."

"Well you're gonna have to pay with something. It's not free this time."

Shina glanced over at the source of light they were holding.

"That's a nice phone you got there."

Todoroki was reluctant. His hands were shaking as he slowly handed over his phone.

"Not yours." Shina turned towards Shinsou, "Yours."

"MINE?! The hell is wrong with his?" Shinsou pointed at Todoroki who appeared to be relieved that she was targeting the former. "You said it yourself, he's rich."

"Yeah but I have his contact info."

"Then get my contact info and he can get a new phone."

"Why would I want some stranger's contact info?"

"I'm on a family plan! If I cancel, then we lose out on the discount! Besides, how am I going to explain to my family that I lost my expensive smartphone?"

"Fine. Instead of your phone. I want you to brainwash my customers, Hitoshi Shinsou."

"Huh?" Shinsou touched his face to make sure he was still wearing his mask. "You know exactly who I am! I'm no stranger, take my damn contact info already! Like hell I'm going to con your customers!"

* * *

"I'll help find you a job so that you can buy a new phone."

Shinsou was with his shoulders down, dragging his body to walk alongside Todoroki, who was trying his best to break the sour atmosphere between the two. With Shinsou's phone now in Shina's possession, Todoroki was now the source of light that could guide them back.

"Just buy me a new phone. It's your fault for forgetting money."

Todoroki ignored his comment and continued on his own, "Hey, that person that we met up with...she's been the one selling Trigger to the people we've been hunting down as Yukihira."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Is she the one-"

"No, she's not. I know you don't like it, but if we want to find who is, we're going to need to work with her. And for her to get more information, we have to let her keep doing her thing. Don't worry, we will be there to stop her customers."

"Damn you and your vigilante-esque type of thinking. You're not above the law you know. You can't just write and bend the rules however you please. If you let a villain free, you might as well be considered a villain yourself. But anyway, I'll let it slide…for now. So, what did she have to say?"

* * *

The next morning, despite being the last one to arrive and fall asleep, Todoroki was the first one awake. He had bags under his eyes and exhausted from the day before. However, after learning about a traitor among potentially one of his classmates he motivated himself into observing each and every action of his classmates starting first thing in the morning.

" _It could honestly be anyone in our class. The least likely person being Midoriya. All Might searched far and wide for a successor and he just happened to pick Midoriya. It'd be too much of an unfortunate coincidence if All Might just happen to select a villain for his successor. I hate to admit it, but I'm jealous. At least I can trust him."_

"Todoroki."

" _But who would be the most suspicious? Bakugou? They kidnapped him during the school trip and brought him over to their base in hopes of converting him to their side…or that's the story he says. But what if it was under the guise of a kidnapping and they really just needed him to tell them everything? From the fight Bakugou had with Midoriya, we can assume that All Might thinks highly of Bakugou. Bakugou would also be the perfect bait into luring All Might. Next one is…Iida."_

"Todoroki!" Speak of the devil, Iida had been calling out to him for the past minute waving his hands in front of Todoroki's face trying to get his attention.

"I guess I should have expected the class rep to be the first one awake. It's just like you to set an example. Unless, you're just using that as a front and you're really heading early in the morning to meet up with someone!" The die had been cast and Todoroki was already suspicious of every little action Iida would do.

Iida's hand gesture told Todoroki to stop with whatever his thoughts were. At the slightly hand movement, Todoroki jumped back, thinking he was about to be attack.

"What's with you Todoroki? You don't seem like yourself today. In fact, I can see the bags under your eyes, you should sleep in for the day. A hero needs a healthy body to perform their duties after all."

Todoroki walked up to Iida, inching closer to him and violation Iida's personal space.

"Yeah you'd like that wouldn't you? I'm on the right track and you're trying to send me away."

Iida had no idea what Todoroki was going on about and to avoid anymore awkward conversation he slowly made his way to the other side of the room and ate his breakfast in peace. But Iida took a sneak peek at Todoroki, sending shivers down his spine as Todoroki was watching him like a hawk.

" _Scary. Todoroki's scary today! Just don't look at him and maybe he'll go away."_

" _The League of Villains objective is to kill the Symbol of Peace, All Might. Thankfully, back when we were attacked at USJ, no one died. In fact, no one was severely hurt except for Aizawa-sensei. But what if that was intentional? They thought with the manpower they had, the students would lose and the entire class would be hostages to lower All Might's guard. The signal was jammed but they needed to ensure someone was fast enough to call over All Might. Because they'd get tired of waiting. Hence, Iida. If he was fast enough to meet up with the heroes, he'd be fast enough to meet up and call over the villains during the school trip as well. He also met up with the Hero Killer Stain before Midoriya and I arrived, anything could have happened before then. But…maybe I'm just swinging arguments together and hoping they stick. All those things could be taken at face value."_

"Yo! Iida!" Uraraka was the third one to wake up and head to the common floor.

The room had been so quiet that Iida could hear himself chewing and eating cereal and having it echo across to Todoroki.

"Why do you look so scared?"

"I-I think I did something to anger Todoroki." Iida pointed to Todoroki who was still staring from across the other side of the room.

"Heheh…I see. Wait, I think he's mad at me too."

" _Uraraka. She's someone that became a hero for money to support her parents. The villains could have just paid her. But Shina said that Shigaraki's spy was the third in-command, in other words, loyal to Shigaraki. Someone who cares about money wouldn't exactly be considered loyal. There's always someone richer."_

"Todoroki! What'd I do?!" Uraraka shouted as she felt intimidated by Todoroki's glare. "I-i-i-if this was about the pudding the other day, I didn't know it was yours! Sorry!"

"That was you?!"

Yaoyorozu was the next person to wake up. She immediately grabbed a bowl of cereal for herself and walked over to where Uraraka and Iida were sitting.

"But…that was my pudding." Yaoyorozu sniffled, "You've started off my day with a broken heart."

"I'm sorry Momo!" Uraraka bowed her head for her friend's forgiveness.

" _Yaoyorozu…"_ Todoroki hesitated to cast any suspicion upon her. _"There's just no way. There's nothing that would put her in sight to be the traitor. Other than the fact that she's able to create a tracker for the League of Villains to find her at anytime and that with her quirk she can create the Trigger drug at anytime within Yuuei grounds. So then the drug wouldn't be smuggled it'd be…created…No…No way."_

"He's doing that thing to you too." Uraraka whispered among her friends as they stared at Todoroki who was staring at them.

"Yeah, it's totally creepy." Yaoyorozu slowly ate her cereal.

"At least he didn't say anything to you!" Iida grumbled as he took a bite.

" _Ugh. This isn't a healthy way to think. This information is too big for me and Shinsou alone. I need to tell someone else. Do I tell Midoriya? He has a keen sense of observation. No…out of everybody, there is one person I can definitely trust."_

* * *

"H-how you did you come across this information, young Todoroki my boy?!"

Todoroki sat on the couch in Toshinori's personal staff room. The former number one hero's room was a mess. There were unwashed coffee mugs on the desk which left a musky odor and papers scrambled all over the floor.

"I…"

Todoroki had already come this far. But he was struggling to find the right words to say. He didn't want to say anything that would implicate he was a vigilante. That he was Yukihira.

"The person responsible for my suspension, the person who injected Yoarashi with the quirk enhancing drug…approached me a few weeks ago. She said she wasn't a member but that she worked with the Villain Alliance."

"What? Really now. Is this true?!" Toshinori was shocked to hear that such a villainous character would have the gall to approach their victim, especially if that someone was Todoroki.

"Yeah. And feeling guilty for the trouble she caused me, told me there was a traitor among the first year students."

Only half of what Todoroki had said was true.

"Unbelievable…I hate to tell you this but what that villain said? It's true. Ever since the USJ incident, the staff have been on the lookout for any suspicious activity. We've been aware that there is a traitor in our midst. We've had to allocate our resources into inspecting each and every student, each and every staff member. But if we have knowledge that it's a first year, that saves a lot of time. But oh boy, you've been doubting your classmates. That's no good Todoroki."

"I didn't want to doubt them. It makes me sick. That's why I came to share this with you." Todoroki clenched his heart.

It hadn't been a night since Shina told him about the incident and Todoroki was already wracking his brain over it. In the short few months he'd come to know his classmates, he already felt a bond like no other. He couldn't comprehend that among them was a traitor, pretending to join the memories they as a class have made. Toshinori reached over to pat Todoroki's head. Todoroki hadn't felt this sensation with Endeavor before. It was reminiscent of what his mother would do to comfort him whenever he wanted to cry.

"I can't tell you to forget about it. In fact, I recommend that you try your best to learn the identity of this traitor. For the sake of your safety and if not that, then at least your classmates."

" _This might be a good chance to bring up Midoriya and One for All."_ It was another topic of interested that lingered around Todoroki's thoughts from time to time.

"But."

" _Or maybe not…"_ Todoroki's questions would have to be answered later. Toshinori looked like he still had things he wanted to say.

Toshinori took a sip from his coffee before continuing on, "Todoroki, I hate to say it but given the recent events, you've risen to the top of our list of suspects."

"…What?"

"If I were to tell another faculty member, they might even say that you've come to realize we were suspecting you and by admitting you know about a traitor, said you'd want to help, only to throw us off your scent."

The encounter with Aizawa should have been an indication of that. No surprise there for Todoroki. What really bothered him was that his hero, All Might was among those that suspect him. Even if he was a vigilante in secret, even with his suspension, even though what All Might speculated is completely reasonable, it bothered Todoroki.

"But I like to believe in all my beloved students. Innocent until proven guilty! That's why I'm letting you know about their suspicions. I want to believe in you. Hahaha." Toshinori looked so frail that he could fall over from his hollow laughter alone.

" _Never mind. That's the All Might I know. Always putting up a front for the sake of others."_ Todoroki stood up from the couch seat, "Thanks for your time and thanks for listening to me All Might."

"Hahaha, please. I'm not All Might anymore, just Toshinori-sensei or plain ol' Toshinori."

"No way. To me and every student here, you'll always be All Might." Todoroki left Toshinori's staff room, he twisted the knob as he closed the door. _"Suspect or not, I'll do whatever it takes to find out who the spy from the League of Villains is. I don't want our class to be fighting amongst ourselves. That would be what the traitor wants. I'll endure this pain, it'll be mine and mine alone. I'll be a hero among the heroes."_

* * *

"When are you going to use what I gave you, Monoma?"

Monoma tried to turn around to look at the source of the voice. The voice was being distorted by a voice changer, so he had no idea who was talking to him.

"That drug? You've got to be kidding me. I can beat class A without it."

A hand pushed the back of Monoma's head to the ground and he landed face first. Then the anonymous person sat on top of him. With direct contact, Monoma copied his attacker's quirk and tried to use it against him. But it wouldn't activate, it felt like his nerves took over. Like his body had shut down.

"W-who…!?" Monoma kept struggling but his body wouldn't move an inch. His body felt like it was no longer his own.

"You class B chumps should have realized how inferior you were to class A long ago. You should have used Trigger long ago. Now here am I, doing all the work for you."

Monoma's head was light. He wasn't in any sort of pain, yet the touch or the voice of his attacker had him falling in and out of consciousness.

"Well it's good practice using my quirk this way. So I guess it's fine." Monoma's attacker got off of him, "That should be enough. Now…stand up."

Monoma stood up with his eyes all dazed. Monoma no longer had control over his own body, his consciousness had vanished.

"Good good, now…" The attacker handed Monoma a vial of Trigger. "Use this."

Monoma was helpless before what his attacker had demanded of him and without complaint or question, he obeyed as he slowly injected the needle into his bloodstream.

"And go do what the rest of them are doing."

* * *

A loud crashing sound rung throughout all of Heights Alliance. All residents that were in their dorm rooms had assumed it was Bakugou being an idiot and using his explosions indoors but everyone on the common floor. Knew the cause of the explosion. They couldn't comprehend what had transpired.

"K-Kirishima? Yo…are you…okay dude?" Kaminari's fingers shook as he reached out for his buddy that was normally durable, sturdy and a spirited loud-mouth.

Kirishima had suddenly came crashing and flying through the walls of Heights Alliance, his momentum was halted as got stuck in a wall of the common floor lounge. He wasn't moving. Kirishima wasn't even conscious.

"Heh. What are you doing to Kirishima? You poor man's Kirishima. I think you can throw one of us and get away with it!?"

Bakugou cracked a smile as he stared at Kirishima's attacker, Tetsutetsu. Mini explosions formed in the palm of his hands. Without warning, Bakugou charged from the lounge room to the outside entrance of Heights Alliance. He did a battle cry as he focused all his attention at Tetsutetsu. Bakugou's peripheral vision didn't notice a much larger steel fist approaching from the side and was sent flying.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya called out to his childhood friend, who appeared to take a serious blow.

"Arghhhh, where the-" Bakugou paused as he gathered himself. He had come to realize that it was Monoma who had done the sneak attack. But even worse, it wasn't just Tetsutetsu and Monoma waiting outside of the dorm building.

"W-what's all of class B doing here?" Iida commented at the large crowd of familiar looking students.

Bakugou couldn't contain his laughter, his blood boiled with excitement and anger, "Hahaha, ain't it obvious? They didn't come here to talk that's for sure. They came here for a fight!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Shina's quirk is kind of complicated. Below is the description and possible ways it'll be used. Hopefully it clears up any confusion for future use of her quirk.

 **Body Stop** \- The ability to stop the time within anything she fires at. Once she has shot a target, the object she shot is suspended in movement, as if that specific object is in stasis or been superglued on the spot and cannot move. While touching her index and middle finger she shoots out her quirk like finger guns (Her personal preference). She can only stop 2 limbs at a time as she only has two hands to create those 'finger guns'.

 _Example using Todoroki as target._

She shoots Todoroki's feet, he cannot walk or move from the spot but can do all other actions She shoots Todoroki's hand, he can move around his legs and other body parts but still cannot move from the spot or utilize his quirk If Todoroki jumps trying to swing down his fist and she shoots his fists while he's in the air, Todoroki will be suspended in mid-air with his fists as the stable anchor point. If she shoots Todoroki's head, his entire body will be frozen in time as well. (Stopping the time within his brain means he cannot send thoughts to the rest of his body to take action) If she shoots his hand while he's using his quirk (fire), his hand cannot move or make his fire expand. The flames on his hands are then still moving on their own, according to how the wind blows. 


	10. Class A vs Class B

**AN:** _As much as I would enjoy a large scale Class A vs Class B, it's really difficult to write action scenes which incorporate many people at once. So I cut it down to only a few. That's not to say that those not involved aren't important._

* * *

"And why would they pick a fight with us? It's Bakugou who's always shit talking!" Kaminari twiddled his fingers.

"Because Class B is weak as shit! Now they've suddenly powered up and think they can beat me?!" Bakugou only helped enforced Kaminari's words.

"Hey, Kendoooo." Iida attempted to call out to his fellow class president of the opposing class, who always styled her orange hair in a ponytail. Iida frantically waved his hands to get her attention.

She turned to her head, taking notice of Iida. She stood there awkwardly, with a twitchy snarling expression which was very uncharacteristic of her.

" _Please, help me. Help all of us."_ Kendo's thoughts were nothing like the expression she was portraying to the Class A members that were present.

"Yeah she's not talking. None of them are, weird." Kaminari observed, "But if they won't tell us what's going on then I'll make them!"

"No wait! We should think of a plan!" Midoriya called out to Kaminari who charged forth on his own.

"I still can't control my powers so everyone take cover! I'll take them out in one go."

Kaminari charged solo into the fray, electricity surged through his body until it shrouded his body.

"1,000,000 Volt discharge!"

Shiozaki, the girl with vines for hair, simply used her vine quirk to block and nullify the attack. Kaminari's electricity stopped and all Class A could see was a giggling idiot with his thumbs up.

"Whrrrry."

"Pft. What an idiot. He just repeated what happened during the sports festival." Jirou held back her laughter. Kaminari's expression after exceeding his wattage limit always made her laugh no matter the situation.

"But I don't think he's okay!" Uraraka pointed out as Shiozaki then swung her thorny vines to wrap Kaminari up.

"Full Cowl!"

"Blast Rush Turbo!"

Midoriya and Bakugou used their respective quirks to save Kaminari as quickly as possible before the vines got a hold of him. But coming from two different directions, the two collided as they grabbed a hold of him. Now Kaminari, Midoriya and Bakugou were surrounded by the mob of Class B students.

"You fucking idiot! I had it!"

"S-s-sorry!"

"Ah, forget it. Get this giggling dumbass outta here."

"Huh? That's it?" Midoriya was shocked, usually Bakugou would ramble on and on about everything he did wrong.

"Do you need me to write out instructions? Because it's really not a good time."

Bakugou focused his attacked into successfully blasting Shiozaki's vines away.

"No. I'll leave this to you. Just make sure to lead them away from the dorm so it doesn't get destroyed."

"Yeah."

"And Shiozaki's vines are weak to your explosion. Tetsutetsu's quirk also doesn't fair well against heat. Monoma copies quirks. Kendo's fists get larger. Other quirks from Class B are weld, solid air, size-"

"Shut up Deku I don't need your advice and don't act like we're partners. Just hurry up!" Bakugou let out an explosive discharge as a smokescreen for Midoriya to escape with Kaminari using Full Cowl.

" _ **Young Midoriya, young Bakugou. If you recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses, you two can become heroes who both win and rescue."**_

" _Tch. Bullshit."_ Bakugou recalled the words that All Might spoke of the night he learned about One for All.

* * *

Todoroki summarized his meeting with All Might to Shinsou who had met up with Todoroki so that they could discuss their next actions as vigilantes. Shinsou looked in the distance at a figure resting underneath a tree. The student had been staring them down for a while now.

"Todoroki, isn't that person Juzo Honenuki from Class B? Did you do something to him?"

"What? I've never even talked to the guy. All I know about him is that he got into Yuuei through recommendations like I did."

"Then why does he keep staring? Wait…what if he's the spy…then he knows we've been snooping around looking for a spy?"

"Haha, no way. That would be too easy…"

After Todoroki's unsettling chuckle, the two simmered down. They had both unintentionally entered a staring contest with Honezuki and carefully approached him. What if, just what if Shinsou's suspicions were true? What if Honezuki was the traitor. His face fit the part, he had a skull-like appearance after all. They kept walking until they were close enough to initiate conversation with him.

"Hey, Honezuki. What's up man?" Shinsou broke the silence.

"Grhhhh." Honezuki only grunted. It wasn't a proper response that could be affected by Shinsou's brainwashing.

Honezuki, like the majority of Class B had been forced to take Trigger against their will by the real traitor.

"I don't like the look in his eyes." Shinsou commented as he backed away slowly.

Honezuki stomped one foot which turned the ground around them into a quicksand texture thanks to his Softness quirk. Todoroki jumped and placed ice below him so he wouldn't be trapped in the quicksand.

"Me neither, that's the look of someone who has taken a dose of Trigger."

"This is bad."

"I know. If he got in through recommendations, then he's going to be formidable opponent."

"No I mean, this is bad. That means his quicksand is stronger." Shinsou couldn't avoid Honezuki's previous attack and was struggling to get out. "So, a little help here?"

"Sure, if I'm on Yuuei grounds, I can freely use my quirk without punishment. I'll finish this up as fast as possible."

Todoroki sent a surging wave of ice at Honezuki, hoping to finish it quickly by instantly freezing him. Honezuki's softness originality can only activate when he touches anything. But with the Trigger enhancing his quirk, softness could now be materialized as energy and emitted to anything it touches. Honezuki used his quirk against Todoroki's ice, making it as soft as water which Honezuki easily sliced through with his arm.

"Seriously? He just turned your ice into water!"

Todoroki kept throwing ice at Honezuki from all angles but he'd just soften the ice and end Todoroki's barrage of attacks.

" _He keeps defending and Shinsou's running out of time."_ Todoroki had to back away from fighting. He clapped his hands and then slammed his palm to the ground.

Todoroki tried to freeze the quicksand it was formed solely from Honezuki's quirk interacting with the grassy terrain beneath them. When Todoroki's ice came into contact with the quicksand, it just turned into softened, watery ice like all of Todoroki's previous attacks.

"T-th-that just made things w-w-w-worse!" Shinsou shivered as he was caught up in a freezing, wet quicksand texture. "J-j-just use your o-other s-side! I-it's getting worse. H-he can't soften fire."

Todoroki prepared himself to use his left side but he couldn't even surround his arm with flames. He had slowly become comfortable using his fire quirk again but all that changed when he fought Yoarashi, used Blazing Tokyo Smash, setting a building on fire and worse, accidentally setting an innocent person on fire in the process. Sure, Todoroki used his fire side as Yukihira but only to melt his ice. He had always been afraid to use it again after the incident which caused his suspension. Todoroki learned how harmful boiling water could be as a child. And so, from the incident could only imagine the pain from being set on fire. Todoroki lowered his left arm and continued sending larger waves of ice towards Honezuki, hoping he'd tire out.

" _What are you doing?! Ice won't work against him you- no way…he's afraid to use his left side again? I thought the only reason he became an ice quirk vigilante was to hide his identity."_ For Shinsou, the quicksand had sunk him down to his chin. It was only a matter of time before Shinsou would drown in the quicksand.

" _It's no longer matter of my father's legacy over me. But, what if I severely burn Shinsou in the blast? Or Honezuki?"_ Todoroki's couldn't stop his left arm from shaking uncontrollably. "Hey Shinsou, this seems unnatural. With Hideo's sight speed, for the most part, he had control of his consciousness. But with Honezuki, it's like he's been injected with an earlier phase of Trigger like the one used on Yoarashi. It's favors the traitor if the students use an unstable version of Trigger. So this could be a ploy by the traitor…which would make Honezuki innocent. What do you think, Shinsou?"

Todoroki glanced over at the quicksand as he finished verbalizing his theory and there was no longer any sign of Shinsou.

"Shin…sou?" Todoroki hoped that he'd receive his typical snappy comebacks. But there was no response to his question.

Todoroki's left arm rapidly shook until it came to a sudden halt.

" _If I didn't stop Yoarashi, there may have been a chance that he'd harm other people. There may be precautions to ensure there isn't significant damage. But in the heat of the moment, heroes can't always perform their duty flawlessly. And if I had to choose between burning one person who'd live through the pain or a chance of Yoarashi targeting other civilians, sorry, but I'd have that person burning every time. If I had to choose between saving someone's life or having them die, I'd save them every time."_

Todoroki covered his entire left side in flames and his entire right side with ice.

" _There's no telling if he'd be able to stop my flames or not. So I send both at him. I'll live with the consequences. If I want to win, if I want to save Shinsou then I'll go beyond._

Todoroki fired out waves of ice on one side and hungry, roaring flames on the other Honezuki. The attack was powerful enough to cause cracks on the ground that they stood. And covered enough ground that Honezuki had no choice but to defend against Todoroki to the best of his ability.

"Plus Ultra!"

Honezuki's softness was helpless before Todoroki's fire and ice quirk. On one half of his body was the pain of being burned by fire and on the other, being frozen by ice, a feeling that Todoroki's body was familiar with. After Todoroki's attack had cleared, Honezuki had become burned on one side and frozen on the other. The blast caused Honezuki to lose consciousness and collapse on the ground. The quicksand had stopped and the ground turned back to normal.

"Hup!" Todoroki destroyed the land beneath and freed Shinsou who immediately gasped for air and started coughing uncontrollably.

"Shit shit shit! That was a close one! Thank you VERY much." Shinsou still gasped for air. He was on the verge of death after all.

Todoroki smiled with relief on his face, he gave thumbs up to Shinsou, "Heh. You're welcome." Todoroki legs went limp from exhaustion.

"H-huh?" Shinsou had managed to calm down a bit and tried to pick up Todoroki, but was too heavy for him to lift up, especially after tiring himself out from struggling in the quicksand. Instead, he put a resting Todoroki against a tree filled with lots of shade. "Hold on, I'll head to the dorm and get someone to tend to you."

* * *

"Deku can rescue all he wants! I'll be the one that wins! Hahahahaha!"

"Geez, doesn't Bakugou ever tire out?" Jirou movements looked sluggish compared to Bakugou's but she was trying her best to fend off some of Class B.

Midoriya took his time to analyze the situation and odds of winning against Class B, _"Kirishima and Kaminari are unable to fight. Everyone else is busy with their internship or something else. So right now we have me, Uraraka, Bakugou, Iida, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu. Half of us here have a utility based quirk. The other half is more suited for combat. We're up against Class B, who seems to be abnormally stronger than they should be."_

Bakugou had failed to lure them completely away from Heights Alliance. Though still in sight, the battle would be at least quite a distance from the dorms and on open grassy plains. Yaoyorozu had volunteered to stay in the backlines as the last line of defense, creating barricades and defensive cannons to keep out any intruders. However, it didn't seem that Class B would reach Yaoyorozu. Most of them had already been taken out. The only ones remaining were Shiozaki [Vine], Tetsutetsu [Steel], Tsuburaba [Solid Air], Monoma [Copy] and the class rep Kendo [Large Fists].

"Leave the poor man's Kirishima! He's mine!" Bakugou was eager to avenge Kirishima, who had been knocked unconscious by Tetsutetsu.

"Kacchan, I think we should work together to take them down. It's been working out so far. There's no need to split off into 1 on 1s just because we can." Midoriya did his best to be rational with his childhood friend, but already knew how he'd respond.

"Fuck off! Like hell I'd work together with you!"

Bakugou continued on to isolate Tetsutetsu but Monoma who was previously fighting with Iida and bore a grudge against Bakugou, left Iida alone and followed suit. With Bakugou at a numbers disadvantage the rest of the class tried to jump in but were blocked off Tsuburara's large wall of solid air and Shiozaki's thicket of vines.

"This is bad…" Despite knowing how capable Bakugou was, he still worried for him in this situation.

"What's wrong, Deku? It's Bakugou we're talking about!" Uraraka tried to lessen his worry.

"Yeah, but…if we're talking about the current threats, Monoma might just be the biggest one here."

Bakugou was trapped in close quarters combat with Tetsutetsu, who reinforced his hands but turning one hand into a thick jousting lance and another into a shield. Bakugou parried the attacks and countered with an explosion but no matter how hard he tried, Tetsutetsu wouldn't allow Bakugou any distance.

"Get away!" Bakugou turbo boosted himself into the air and kept his explosions going to keep himself from landing.

Monoma, copying Bakugou's power, turbo boosted himself towards Bakugou, tackling him to the ground. Tetsutetsu aimed to stab Bakugou with his jousting lance.

"Argh, you're both so annoying! Just because you've gotten a little stronger, doesn't mean I've become any weaker."

Bakugou kicked Monoma off and dodged Tetsutetsu's attacked.

"A little stronger? I think I've become much stronger." Monoma had uttered the first words from anyone in Class B. The entire time, they had stayed quiet but Monoma broke the silence. "Before I could copy two but only use one at a time." _"But thanks to that person injecting me with that drug."_

Monoma, having previously been fighting Iida, copied his quirk and revved the engines on his legs and combined them with Bakugou's Blast Rush Turbo to run incredibly fast. It was too fast for Bakugou to react accordingly. Monoma dashed from where he stood, to Bakugou and landed a clean punch to the gut.

"Yeah, Bakugou's in trouble." Jirou clapped her forearms together, injected her earphone jack into them and created a powerful sound wave that broke through the wall of solid air and vines.

"I'll save him!"

With a clear path, Iida rushed over to Bakugou's side to even the odds, Iida ran fast enough that Shiozaki, Tsuburaba, Kendo, couldn't stop him.

"Haha, wow you're slow. Aren't you the original?" Monoma looked at Iida with contempt.

Thanks to the addition of Bakugou's quirk, Monoma's engines allowed him to move at a higher speed than Iida.

Using Tetsutetsu's power, Monoma turned his hand into the tip of a blade and charged over to stab Iida.

"Iida watch out!" Uraraka cried, hoping he'd dodge it in time. "Why did Iida run off on his own? I know he wanted to aid Bakugou but…now…now…" But it seemed like Monoma had the advantage over Iida.

" _Can I make it in time with Full Cowl? Even if I use 100% it still might not be enough. But if I had to choose between trying and not trying, obviously I'd try my hardest!"_

"You idiot Iida, I didn't clear a way just so it could end up like this." Jirou's fired another sound wave, hoping it'd reached Monoma before he could stab Iida.

Monoma stabbing Iida seemed like a sure thing to happen and the members of Class A felt helpless as they all rushed over to stop Monoma. Meanwhile, someone had requested Yaoyorozu to create a megaphone which she gladly complied to.

"You sure do talk a lot, for someone using Trigger."

"Hah?" Monoma shouted back to the voice that he heard over the megaphone but the second he did, he froze up, unable to move, unable to stab Iida. Iida took this opportunity to get some distance between him and Monoma and to run over by Bakugou's side.

"Who?" Midoriya, Uraraka and Jirou all stopped in their tracks and responded to the voice.

"You know, I was surprised to see that it wasn't just Honezuki, but all of Class B who had been injected by Trigger. More so, that someone could talk after they've been injected. But it's a good thing you can talk or my quirk would just be useless."

Midoriya looked at the person who Yaoyorozu had created a megaphone for, Hitoshi Shinsou, the student with the brainwashing quirk stood before them all. His voice was faster than anything else on the battlefield, enough to stop Monoma from harming Iida. The megaphone had amplified the reach of his brainwashing but made it more unstable. In doing so, it left Midoriya and Uraraka in a dazed state but strangely, Shinsou's brainwashing was incapable of affecting Jirou who still had continue of her body.

Shinsou continued to raise his voice over the megaphone, "Neito Monoma was it? Consider this an order. You are to remain still until we kick your ass."


	11. Over-Limit Brainwashing

**AN:** _Timing, timing is everything and at this point in time I am unsure whether to confirm the identity of the traitor sooner rather than later. I do like building up the suspense and foreshadowing until it becomes obvious, but the manga is pretty much doing that anyway. There is a perfect opportunity coming up to reveal who it is (to you readers, thank you everyone) but it's been fun playing around with this secret. I'll make the decision when the time comes. Rant [END]._

 _Also, as a reminder that the list of main characters on the short summary change to fit who is important/relevant at the time of the latest chapter of this fic with Todoroki as the true main character. And before anyone asks. Me saying this may or may not foreshadow anything to the current list of 'Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Shinsou or OC[Shina].' :)_

* * *

Monoma, Midoriya and Uraraka were all put into a trance by Shinsou. While Shinsou had ordered Monoma specifically to stay still, the other two remained still because they were not yet given an order. If Shinsou wanted to release Uraraka and Midoriya from their hypnotic state, he would have to release Monoma as well, and there was no way Monoma would fall for the same trick twice no matter how much Shinsou taunted him.

"Let me do it. Lemme kick his ass!" Bakugou yelled at Shinsou and everyone else, who were about the distance of a football field away from him on battlefield and was preoccupied with Tetsutetsu.

"I thought a jolt of pain allows the person to break free from your quirk." Jirou teased as she believed Shinsou just wanted to sound cool in front of the hero course students.

Shinsou slightly tilted his head with an annoying yet confused expression on his face, "Huh? You making fun of me? This amplifies my brainwashing. So kick his ass all you want." Shinsou juggled the megaphone in one hand, _"What I'm really confused about is why you weren't brainwashed just now, when you also responded as the same time as Deku and that gravity girl."_

"If that's the case." Jirou made her way to Monoma before anyone else until she stood a foot away from him. "I'll take my time with him. He's been absolutely irritating towards our class since day one."

" _Is it possible that, that quirk of hers…?"_ Shinsou was still deep in his thought, in the meanwhile, Jirou was preparing herself.

Jirou started off small. She brought out one hand and fired a sound wave at Monoma's head, but that was a mistake. That sound wave was all that was needed to break free from Shinsou's hold. Monoma regained consciousness of his body and used his temporary engine quirk to flee away from Jirou.

" _Wow, I don't know what happened but thanks, stupid girl."_ Monoma covered his mouth as he laughed, afraid that any peep out of him would allow Shinsou to brainwash him. But from everyone else's perspective, Monoma looked downright villainous. The wrinkles that formed on his forehead, the crinkles and large grin on his face as well as the sound of laughter that he tried to hold back, were all the signs of a cornered villain.

"Wha? I thought you said he could take any impact, dumbass!" Jirou yelled at Shinsou immediately as Monoma distanced himself.

"It's your quirk. My brainwashing is voice activated when speaking and spoken to. Your sound waves disrupted the frequency I've brainwashed them at. And I assume your body naturally emits sound waves or vibrate at a different frequency than my voice. You cancel out my quirk whether you want to or not, meaning I can never brainwash you." This had been the first person he's met that was completely unaffected by his quirk. Shinsou had grown up around people who were afraid he could turn on them at any moment. He appeared to be relieved that he met someone where that wasn't the case.

" _Well isn't that just perfect? It's so like Class A to screw it up at the last moment. Acting like everything they do is justice, is heroic. As if everything they do, no matter the consequences will be just peachy."_ Monoma turned his arm into a steel blade yet again but this time, ready to strike. _"But not this time. With this drug, with this power, I can exact my own justice."_

Monoma revved up his engines and crouched into a racing position to make a quick dash to his target, the unsuspecting Jirou who was troubled that her excitement allowed Monoma to break free. Yet, she was no longer paying attention to Monoma anymore, she was preoccupied thinking about her mistake.

" _By combining Iida and Bakugou's quirk, there's no one faster than me on this battlefield."_ Monoma rushed towards Jirou with a menacing expression on his face.

"Oh shoot! I can only stop him with a recipro burst but then what? I'll be a sitting duck after." Iida started his engines and tried to get Jirou out of the way. "Recipro bur-"

"Iida!" Shinsou yelled over his megaphone.

Iida was about to let loose, his engines flared, "Y-yes?"

"Over-limit brainwashing!"

"What? You're going to brainwash him at a time like this!?" Yaoyorozu shook Shinsou by the shoulders.

Shinsou focused all his attention on Iida and spoke without looking towards Yaoyorozu, "This is…a new technique, though dangerous in it's own right."

There is a myth that humans only use 10% of their brain. Similarly, even in the face of danger, humans subconsciously do not bring their body to 100% of their capabilities. Instead of straining their body to achieve what must be done, people take a safe route to push their body to the best they can without sustaining significant injury. Over-limit brainwashing allows the target to go beyond their limits and truly move their entire body at 100%, disregarding any strains or pains that may affect them now or in the future. This brainwashing affects the body rather than the mind of the target and so, the target still retains control of their body.

"This technique is inspired by him." Shinsou pointed at Midoriya as he broke him and Uraraka out of his previous brainwashing. "He's always goes past his limits. Over-limit brainwashing is useless on someone like him but on Iida who likes to play it safe. It might work wonders."

Thanks to Shinsou's over-limit brainwashing, Iida reached over to Jirou before Monoma did and moved her out of the way.

" _No way, he's faster?! But this is engine and turbo boost combined!"_ Monoma's eye twitched as he snarled at Iida.

"What is this?" Iida examined his entire body with awe and amazement. "I'm as fast as my recipro burst! And my engines aren't stalling."

" _I'm slower than him? I just need some more speed. Yeah, that's it. Just some more power."_ Monoma surveyed his surrounding and then chance upon Midoriya. _"Maybe with his quirk…"_ Monoma readied himself one more time, positioning his stance, making it known he'd go for Midoriya. _"Blast rush recipro boost!"_

His plan was to touch Midoriya, deactivate his engine quirk then reactivate it to avoid any engine stalling. Then he'd have horded One for All, Engine and Explosion all to himself. However, Monoma was moving at a speed that was far beyond his control and hoped for the best.

" _Everyone already had trouble reacting to Iida's normal recipro burst, there was no way anyone could react to Bakugou's explosion along with Iida's recipro burst. With this, I'm unstoppable."_

One moment Monoma's reach was in sight of Midoriya's arm and the next thing he knew he was that he was back to where he started but face planted in the ground.

"Recipro burst." Iida panted heavily as he shoved Monoma's face into the ground, like a cop who was restraining a criminal on the run. "Sorry to burst your bubble but…you're not faster than the original."

Over-limit brainwashing bypassed recipro burst's engine stall and Iida gave Monoma a swift kick that knocked him out cold. He then continued to utilize Shinsou's brainwashing to the best of his ability and single handedly took out the remaining Class B, ending their rampage which had been started for reasons unknown to everyone there but Shinsou and Monoma.

"Whoaaaa, you were so cool Iida!" Uraraka, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu all ran up to him and praised him while Bakugou looked annoying that Iida was stronger than him at this very moment.

Shinsou removed his brainwashing off Iida. Iida suddenly stumbled and lost all feeling in his leg before collapsing on the ground. Jirou ignored the small celebration they were doing with Iida and she made her way towards Shinsou. She stood in front of him, her eyes shifted around, lip trembling, cheeks flushed with a tint of pink as they both stood in silence for an awkward moment.

"Iida saved the day, but it was all thanks to you. If it weren't for your quirk, Iida would have been stabbed. If it weren't for your quirk, Iida wouldn't have been able to save me and I would have been stabbed. So, thanks. I think if you try, you can be a great hero someday."

Shinsou tried to hide his smile and his lips were shifting around unless he finally just decided to openly smile and scratch the back of his hair with his right hand, "Thanks. I'm glad I got to be someone's hero."

"My hero? With a creepy, sleep deprived face like that?" Jirou clasped her chest with one hand and pointed at him with the other, openly laughing at him.

"Isn't that what you were trying to say?! If I saved you, then I'm your hero!" Shinsou felt embarrassing as he assumed Jirou's intentions.

"Sooooorry, but I have no intention of making you MY hero. All you have to do is talk your ass off."

"All I have to do is talk? You _just_ praised me on my brainwashing capabilities. You know what? I-I'll…"

"What?" Jirou cupped her ear and brought it closer to Shinsou's mouth. "If you're trying to brainwash me, you already know it isn't going to work."

Shinsou's intentions were an open book to Jirou and he just shook his fists, frustrated that her teasing had gotten the better of him. Jirou stood triumphantly before heading past him.

Jirou flicked Shinsou's forehead which caused him to jump back, "Well, anyway. I gotta get back to the dorm and check up on a stupefied, blubbering, electrical idiot. Hope to see you around.

"Don't count on it, woman. You've officially become the bane of my existence."

* * *

" _I know that look…"_

Todoroki was resting against the tree after his battle with an unconsciously Honezuki, who was by his side under the shade of the tree. Todoroki was recalling Honezuki's facial expression when they fought and something had unsettled him and it finally hit him.

" _Because of Shina's personal input, I had been convinced that the traitor could only be from Class A but what if that wasn't the case? Honezuki's eyes, I knew they looked familiar. Those stunned, dazed eyes, the eyes of someone who's been brainwashed. Maybe I'm just too tired right now, I must be mistaking things but if I'm not, if what I'm theorizing happens to be the case then…is it possible that the spy who works for the Villain Alliance, the traitor that's terrorized us time and time again, is Shinsou?"_


	12. Search Party I: Calm

News of the battle between the two hero classes that took place a couple of days ago spread throughout the entire campus. By interrogating Class B, the staff members learned of Trigger being smuggled right under their very noses and immediately performed a wide-scale search to confiscate Trigger before another repeat incident. Luckily, Yuuei was able to contain the incident before word got out to the public, so the swarm of reporters wouldn't hinder their activities.

"It's disturbing how not a single soul from Class B knows what came over them." Iida had visited Hatsume Mei's workshop under orders from Recovery Girl.

Iida's excessive use of Recipro Burst during the battle against Class B caused a significant amount of strain on his legs, one that not even Recovery Girl could fully heal. Using his crutches, Iida struggled to hop towards a chair. Yaoyorozu, who decided to use her internship to work with Power Loader and Hatsume, helped him along to the chair.

"I heard the entire class is kept under quarantined for the time being until they figure what's going on." Yaoyorozu began taking measurements for the length of Iida's legs.

"I heard they're focusing on examining Monoma. Class B claims that had no control over their body. That's why everyone we fought stayed silent except Monoma, he seemed to be the only one able to talk."

"Everyone that you and the others fought. I just stood there and watched everyone. My greatest contribution that day was creating a megaphone for Shinsou. I'm not exactly a fighter like everyone else. That's why I've been thinking lately, that maybe I just should join the support division…" Yaoyorozu handed over the blowtorch that Hatsume's arms were desperately trying to reach.

Hatsume stopped working on her latest invention and began to grumble to herself. She walked towards a pile of inventions that were cluttered over one another in a corner of the workshop.

"No, not this. Not this either. Geez baby, where are you~?"

"Hatsume?"

"Here!" Hatsume dragged out a white metallic armor equipped with all sorts of boosters on the legs of the armor. "Yao-Momo, if you wish to get stronger, you can wear this! But make sure all the sponsors can see my trademark branding!" The trademark were the initials of her name, 'MH' in blocky bubble letters.

"Hey, that's-"

"I call this baby the Ingenium V4! Modelled after the fourth generation Ingenium!"

"THAT'S ME! I'm the fourth generation Ingenium!"

"The boosters in the legs allow the user to run at faster than normal speeds! Your kicks will also be enhanced!"

"There's no need to explain, she already knows how my quirk works!"

"And when you want to accelerate at blinding speeds for a split second you can activate the Recipro Burst feature!"

"You even replicated that?! Did my entire existence just get replaced with one of Hatsume's one off inventions?!"

"Well, what do you think~?"

"I think it's plagiarism! No, this is identity theft! This is unethical! Did you obtain the data during the sports festival to make this?!"

"Fufufu!" Hatsume winked at Iida which made him go into a ghostly shock.

"Th-that's okay Mei! I don't think this is the upgrade I was looking for." Hatsume came on a little too strong for Yaoyorozu's liking. The armor was being aggressively shoved onto Yaoyorozu who kept trying her best to refuse.

"Too bad, I would really appreciate if someone from a wealthy family wore this. I can just imagine all the sponsors and clients that would flock over to the great Hatsume Mei! Ahem, but more importantly. There's no need for you to join the support division. Yes, with your quirk and my brains, we could create the most _fabulous_ inventions. But you have your own reasons for entering the hero course."

" _But I'm still not confident I have what it takes. What is a hero? Someone who saves the day? If that's the case, then from what I can tell, I haven't done a single heroic thing since coming to Yuuei. The closest thing was my encounter with Hideo, but even then, Todoroki ended up being the hero. Todoroki, do I even deserve to stand beside someone like you…?"_

Yaoyorozu remained lost in her own thoughts while Iida and Hatsume had no idea what words to say and stayed quiet.

Yaoyorozu sighed, "I think I'm done for the day." After a day of working with the tools in the workshop she grabbed a cloth to wipe her hands. "It's just going to be you and Hatsume, good luck Iida."

"Good luck? I don't see why I would need-?"

"Iida~ aren't you also from a well-known family?"

Hatsume's face lit up as she grinned. She reached over for an electric drill, turning it on and off which caused Iida's face to turn pale. She pushed a button which made the chair forcefully strapped Iida in. He struggled and squirmed but the injuries kept him from overexerting his efforts. Yaoyorozu smiled as she exited the room. The last thing Yaoyorozu could hear were Iida's terrified screams of agony.

* * *

"Have you learned the identity of Shina's contact?" Kurogiri's voice could be heard through the phone of the traitor.

"No clue. I've been on campus monitoring all the staff members and I've got nothing. I could just be getting unlucky."

"Search the students. It could very likely be a student."

"Kurogiri, do you know how many students there are to track?"

"Then start with your class. You live with them, that should be easy enough."

"Kurogiri, who are you talking to?" Shigaraki's distant voice could be heard on the phone.

"Oh it's –" Kurogiri's voice faded as he used a hand to cover the speaker of the phone.

The traitor waited a small moment before their ears heard the sound of the phone breaking up, but in reality, the noise heard was just the shuffle of the phone and the transfer from Kurogiri's grasps and into Shigaraki's.

"That wasn't part of the game plan. What was your play there?"

"My play? Because you told me to search for Shina's contact, I tried to root them out. I wanted to see if anyone knew that they were dealing with Trigger."

"You couldn't just wait a little longer? We were supposed to leak to the press the incompetence of Yuuei. Now they're cracking down on Trigger before it becomes public knowledge." Shigaraki sighed, "At the very least, did you learn anything from this little incident?"

"…N-n-nothing. I still have no idea who we're dealing with."

"Nothing, why? Because you're a dumbass that's why. That's why I make the plans and you fuckin' follow them. Don't make me replace you with one of the newbies. We have a shape shifter that'd be just perfect."

"Then you better hope he can handle being with kids."

"She. I bet she loves kids. Actually wait," Shigaraki's voice could be heard yelling towards those in the background, "Himiko, what do you think about spending time with kids? ...Yeah? Uh huh, that's what I thought, she loves them. She's willing to take your spot anytime."

"Ouch, don't make me sound so expendable."

"I'm just fuckin' with ya, don't get so depressed will ya? You messed up. But on the contrary, you've provided some entertainment for me. I tell Shina that her contact should be prepared to watch their back, to squirm, to doubt and I bet that's exactly what they're doing!"

* * *

"This is clearly a message to you, All Might."

Todoroki met with All Might once again in his personal office.

"Their goal is to kill you, the Symbol of Peace. They're trying to tell you that even within Yuuei grounds, you aren't safe."

"Now, now. I know you yourself were engaged in a battle against Class B, you felt their strength firsthand. But I think you're jumping to conclusions young Todoroki."

Todoroki gently bit down on his lip and stared at his own fingers, refusing to make eye contact with Toshinori.

"From the looks of it, you've jumped to multiple conclusions."

"I haven't jumped on anything."

"That is the same conflicted look you had when we spoke last time. Is what's on your mind…related to what we spoke of before?"

Todoroki simply nodded.

"Do I have to repeat what I said?"

"This is different. I think I know who it is."

"There you are Todoroki, jumping to conclusions."

"To be fair, I said 'I think', I'm not certain yet and the last time we talked, you encouraged me to search out this traitor."

"Fair enough my boy. I'll stop giving you a hard time and listen."

"I think it's a person I've recently befriended."

"May you perhaps be speaking of Hitoshi Shinsou?"

"Wha- How did you?" Toshinori's wild guess threw Todoroki off. _"What is he a mind reader? Is that another quirk of his? If One for All can transfer quirks, does that mean Midoriya has been able to read my mind this entire time?"_

"Looks like I nailed it. Oh, I don't have a quirk that can read minds."

" _He totally read my mind again."_

"Young Midoriya had the same suspicions as you. He has experienced Shinsou's quirk firsthand, he knows the dead blank gaze of one that has been brainwashed by young Shinsou. He is aware

that a jolt of pain is enough to break out of that quirk but those from Class B remained brainwashed despite Midoriya's efforts."

" _As expected of Midoriya. He makes a good point. However, if he had taken Trigger before the entire event, his power could increase. But I could be entirely wrong, my entire premise is based on Honezuki who just so happened to look brainwashed. There could be an unknown quirk that we're dealing with here."_

"Well?" Toshinori just waited and watched as Todoroki's expressions and posture changed.

"You're right. I have been jumping to conclusions. But it doesn't change the fact that he's suspect."

Toshinori laughed, "The same could be said about you."

Todoroki shot his head to the side as he blushed, "Heh, well played."

"You feel obligated to search for the identity of the spy, I understand that. You've given yourself a sense of duty, a personal mission. But I've seen many people become obsessed with their mission. A mission so daunting, so time consuming that it begins to change a person. They do whatever it takes at all costs and after all is said and done, they lose their sense of self. Those that were once heroes, can no longer be called as such. You walk a dark road Todoroki. For the sake of your friends, you wish to shield them from the truth and handle this task alone. I cannot say if that option is right or wrong but I can only hope that you do not stray away from who you truly are. A talented young man that holds those near and dear to him close to his heart."

Todoroki decided this would be the best way to end their conversation. A happy, lighthearted messaged from his childhood hero. He got off his seat and opened the door.

" _Yeah. I really do enjoy our little sessions. I always start off arguing and he somehow manages to calm me down. This feels different from how 'he' does things. Sometimes, just sometimes, All Might feels like my…"_

"Hey, don't forget to close the door on the way out!"

"Yeah, yeah no need to nag me, dad." Todoroki closed the door like Toshinori reminded him too.

" _I could have sworn young Todoroki said…?"_

"… _Did I just call him…?"_

Kaminari had just left the washroom and happened to have the most perfect timing. Kaminari stared wide eyed at Todoroki with his jaw dropped. The dropped jaw slowly turned into a wide smile and the smile turned into hysterical, rolling on the floor laughter. Todoroki's blood rushed to his head, as the feeling of embarrassment fell over him.

"You tell anyone about this and I will kill you."

Todoroki walked away from Kaminari, but not before encasing him in ice.

" _Damn, I forgot to ask him about One for All once again. Well, there's always next time."_

* * *

" _It's been a while since I stepped in this office."_

"Welcome everyone. It's been a while." Sir Nighteye stood with arms behind his back and his back facing Midoriya and Mirio.

Midoriya observed the map which Sir Nighteye had his full attention on, it was why Sir Nighteye couldn't bother to face his own employees.

" _I haven't stepped in here since we failed to save Eri from the grasps of Overhaul. Why did Sir call us here today? Did he find a lead on Eri?"_

"This time…this time we'll save Eri!" Mirio declared before the entire office.

Sir Nighteye continued looking on at his backboard, not budging an inch.

"It's not about Eri, not this time. Surprising to say, something more urgent has caught my attention."

" _Urgent? More urgent than Eri? A little girl that goes through excruciating pain all for the sake of a twisted man?"_

"For quite some time, I've been looking for a certain person. Only recently have I learned the name of the person I've been searching for all this time. Do not question it. Do not ask my reason. For this mission, I just need everyone's cooperation to do as I say."

" _What's going on? Who is this person that has Sir all riled up? This is strictest I've ever seen Sir Nighteye…"_

"The target wears a mask that covers one eye; a black hoodie lined with a yellow stripe and possesses an ice quirk. He calls himself a vigilante and partners himself with a fellow vigilante donning a fox mask."

" _Wait, I've heard of a vigilante like that. I think the name was-"_

"Yuki. Our top priority will be to capture the vigilante known as Yuki of the two-man duo, Yukihira. Capture him if you can but if you can't…you have my full authority to kill him."

* * *

 _ **AN:** All these characters that showed up and none of them are Shinsou. Yaoyorozu development shamelessly disguised as a potential ship for Hatsume/Iida. And DadMight is taken to a whole new level._


	13. Search Party II: Confrontation

_AN: Had a bit of writer's block since it was difficult to work around Todoroki being suspicious of Shinsou but it turned out for the better. To be clear in case anyone missed it during the little conversation with Nighteye. The arc is currently taking place after the Eri arc where it is assumed they've failed to rescue her._

 _ **ATTENTION:**_ "You're Next" was a title in progress, didn't want to be based off the quote in the manga. It will now be known as **"Someone's hero."** starting chapter 14.

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

"Did you just say… _kill_ him? You're ordering high school students…to kill someone?" Midoriya hands were shaking, he used his other hand to grab a hold of himself but that didn't change a thing. "This isn't what I signed up for. I don't plan to dirty my hands. Not now, not ever."

"In an ideal world you want to save everybody. But this is the real world. You've heard the cliché. At some point a twisted villain will give you the dilemma of having to choose between saving a loved one or hundreds, thousand or even millions of citizens. That's an extreme but something along those lines will happen to every hero. But let me clarify, you don't have to kill the vigilante, in actuality, I would prefer his or her capture. Giving you the authority to kill indicates the threat level I've assessed for this person.

"You want the office to defeat someone of that caliber, Sir Nighteye?" Mirio asked his boss.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding. I cannot say for sure how strong Yukihira may be. However, what I've seen from my foresight, he will become the catalyst that will tear down the walls of society as we know it."

* * *

" _After speaking with All Might, I have no idea what I should be doing. No idea who I should be looking for. I'm stumped. We haven't found the person responsible for brainwashing Class B and there's no way I'm going to wait around for the traitor to strike again. I have to think of something they'll never see coming."_

Todoroki paused for a bit trying to think of a plan that would give him the advantage of the Villain Alliance.

" _I should take a different approach to this. I shouldn't be thinking what a hero should do. That's how everyone is approaching this. I should be thinking about what only I can do. I got it. Now all I need is to set up a meeting with Shina. There's no time to waste, I'll set it for today."_

* * *

"You want to infiltrate the Villain Alliance? Are you crazy?!"

"Please speak louder. I don't think the entire dorm heard you."

Yaoyorozu sat with her legs crossed whilst on her bed that took up more than half the space in her bedroom. She playfully rocked back and forth as she spoke with Todoroki who occupied the desk she often studied on. Todoroki fiddled with the little knickknacks on her desk since the topic of conversation made it difficult to look her in the eye.

"Did Shinsou agree to this absurd plan of yours?"

Todoroki was thrown off guard by her question, "I didn't tell him."

"Todoroki…"

"Don't give me that look. I have my own reasons for not telling him." _"Like the fact that he could be a spy."_

"Actually, judging from Shinsou's stories this is per the usual."

"Stories? How'd you hear these stories?"

"He's been with Jirou lately and Jirou's been telling me."

"Jirou? That's an odd pair of people. Well, what kind of stories…?"

"The time you befriended him but never knew his name."

"That's just petty."

"The time you forced him to sell his own phone since you forgot to bring money."

"Is that how he tells that one?"

"How about the fact that he has no phone after you promised him a new one?"

"Fine, fine! I'll buy him a new phone. Happy?"

Yaoyorozu face palmed and shook her head, followed with an exhausted sigh.

"Weren't you supposed to do that anyway? Besides, you've missed the point that I've been trying to make."

"Which is?"

"You should be treating Shinsou better. He's your friend after all. You can start by telling him about this dumb infiltration idea. In the first place, how do you plan to infiltrate them?"

"Well, Shina."

"Oh, you mean your crazy contact from the underworld that you've come to rely on?"

"That's her. In the heat of the moment, she suggested if I wanted more information on Shigaraki and the Villain Alliance, that I should get it myself. I was thinking that she put in a good word and allow me to be one of his dealers for the quirk enhancing drug."

"Perfect. Now how will I introduce you to my parents? Hi mom, dad, this is Todoroki he got suspended from school and is now a vigilante WHO DEALS DRUGS for the villains that keep attacking me on every field trip."

Todoroki took a second to pause. "That does sound pretty terrible. Huh, wait a minute. For what reason would I ever need to be introduced to your parents?" Todoroki took a moment until he thought of an appropriate reason and then immediately hid his own embarrassment.

"F-f-f-for what reason?" Yaoyorozu's face was frozen in a smile as her cheeks turned beet red but her feelings turned from embarrassed into unconfident. _"I can only think of one reason. But it's not like Todoroki would ever…with someone as incompetent as me."_

Todoroki made his way to Yaoyorozu who curled herself up in a ball still trying to think of an excuse out of this embarrassing situation. Todoroki placed one knee and kneeled on her bed, hunching over to Yaoyorozu until his mouth was positioned beside her ear.

"Unless you've been imagining 'that' with me."

" _That? Is his 'that,' the same 'that' that I'm imagining?! Oooooh gosh. Has he caught me? Is he just teasing me now? Argh, stupid Todoroki, this is totally out of character for you. Unless, you do this all the time. Oh god, you do, don't you? I knew it, you ARE a womanizer, well too bad for you because I'm not falling for it."_

"How would you like to take one step closer towards 'that' and accompany me today?"

"Yes! I'd love too!" Yaoyorozu happily replied immediately without even a moment's pause. _"I…totally fell for it. Damn you, how smooth can you be? How many girls have you've done this with?"_

Todoroki tried to hide how happy he was with how quickly and excitedly Yaoyorozu answered him and continued with this front. "I…see."

"Wait…accompany you for what?" Yaoyorozu had no idea what she had just agreed to.

"Why…for my meeting with Shina. Her help is an absolute necessity if I plan to infiltrate the Villain Alliance."

"But today?"

"Today."

"When did you think of this plan again?"

"Today."

"This terrible plan is spontaneous? Listen, because you need to hear this, Todoroki. Since your suspension, you've been experimenting with different types of heroics. I've been by your side, nodding my head for everything you've confided in me with so far but this is where I have to put my foot down and shake my head. You have all the talent and potential in the world. I don't see why you're rushing to become a hero, especially now more than ever since your suspension. What's your purpose for becoming a hero? Because the more you do stuff like this, the less likely you will be able to fulfill that purpose."

"Purpose? Right now my purpose is to infiltrate the Villain Alliance. Because someone has a target on all of my friends' backs. I don't need any reason for being a hero, just that I want to. Just like how Midoriya selflessly caused himself pain just to help me. I want to do the same. That's all. Do I need a reason to help others? Never mind Yaoyorozu, it's fine, I'll meet up with Shina alone. This is my business and mine alone anyway. I can't be dragging you along in the world of vigilantes."

The mood in the room turned sour. Yaoyorozu didn't know how to respond. She had clearly angered him and to prevent herself from saying anything she'd regret, she stayed silent. Todoroki accept that as his cue and left Yaoyorozu's room. She collapsed on her bed the moment he did and let out a big sigh.

"Did I screw up? Did I say something wrong? Maybe it's you, Todoroki. I think there is something bothering you and I just want to help…"

* * *

"Sir is really serious about this. I wonder what he meant by 'tearing down' the walls of society." Midoriya pondered on as he continued walking beside Mirio, his partner to help him patrol the streets of the city.

"I'm not sure but I've never seen Sir Nighteye like that before. Whatever this Yukihira fellow is up to, we have to find them as fast as possible. However, saying that, Nighteye's information has led us to believe that the vigilante operates within this area but considering the size of this city, it may take a while to find him."

"How would a vigilante think?" Midoriya held his jaw, deep in thought. He wanted to role-play the mindset of a vigilante but drew a blank.

"I don't know. I assume they like to look for trouble." Mirio was also stumped on where to start. "Maybe Nighteye should have given us more to go on."

"That doesn't help. Heroes should be looking for trouble as well, so they can solve them."

"Heroes have a duty to protect the public, that's why on patrol we stay relatively close to dense, high traffic, populated areas. Maybe these vigilantes look for trouble in shiftier places."

"Does that apply? There are law-abiding vigilantes such as The Crawler that help out with everyday tasks. And Knuckleduster who frequently comes out during the night rather than daytime."

"Hmmm, so all vigilantes are different, that does make sense. Maybe he has an M.O"

"Nighteye told us that all of Yukihira's target have something in common. At some point, they were in possession of Trigger."

"That's the same drug you fought against with Class B, right?"

"Yeah and if he's hunting down Trigger, then he's definitely the type to look for trouble in shady places."

Suddenly, a middle aged man crashed into Midoriya, causing both of them to fall over and interrupting the conversation between Mirio and Midoriya. The man's teeth were chattering non-stop and in the collision he dropped a needle filled with a small green liquid.

Mirio crouching down to pick up the needle. "Hey, what a coincidence. Isn't this Trigger?"

The man let out a high pitched yelp but refused to reply to Mirio's question.

"I guess that answers that. Hey you," Mirio plopped the man up straight, dusting him off. "Did you just buy this from someone down this alleyway?"

"He's not answering us. We have to hurry or else the supplier could get away. Drop this man off with that hero over there."

"Fine." Mirio walked towards a pro hero who conveniently happened to be patrolling nearby. He explained to the hero that the man was in possession of Trigger and then swiftly returned to Midoriya's side. "Shifty, shady alleyway it is."

The two partners walked down the dark alleyway filled with litter and smelled of garbage. Midoriya cautiously tippy-toed around all the garbage, performing a little dance. Midoriya had just cleaned his hero costume. He didn't mind if it got dirty later but if he was capable of keeping it clean, he sure as hell was gonna do so.

"I hate dirty alleyways."

"I haven't noticed." Mirio appeared rather entertained with Midoriya's dance. Mirio had it easy, he simply had to activate his permeation quirk for whatever was in his path.

"Hmmm?"

Midoriya and Mirio turned the corner to find a girl with half-black, half-white hair, struggling to close her bag. They could hear the clanking sound of glass as she shook the bag.

"Stupid zipper is stuck. Nghhh." Shina didn't take notice of the two boys staring at her with dumbfounded expressions.

"Excuse me." Midoriya called out.

"Ya-ro?" Shina wore her cutesy, playful façade as the two startled her.

"We're heroes. If you could stay still and let us see what's in the bag, then we'll be on our way."

" _Ah shit, they're heroes?"_ Shina slowly brought her head up to see who the people confronting her were and glanced at Mirio and Midoriya. _"They're almost the same age as me though. Phew, shouldn't be a problem then."_ Shina gave them a bright smile. "Ah~ Sorry but I don't feel comfortable with boys touching my things. So I'm going to have to get going."

Shina dashed straight for the wall and activated her phasing quirk, hoping that she'd get a clean getaway while her pursuers had to go around the long way.

Mirio sighed. "I don't feel comfortable hurting girls but if they're villainous, then it comes with the job."

Mirio activated his quirk, slipping into the ground and immediately popped out of the wall Shina ran towards. His sudden emergence from the wall startled her, causing her to accidentally deactivate her phasing and be pushed to the ground by Mirio.

Shina gathered herself up before stepping back to distance herself from Mirio. "That quirk, it's almost the same as mine."

"I was thinking the same thing. But compared to you, I've trained so that I could perfect it in combat." Mirio brought himself into a battle stance. "And from your attempted escape, I can only presume you are indeed the dealer for Trigger that we're after."

"Hmmm? I just can't trust _children_ who claim to be heroes."

"Children? Aren't you also a high schooler?" Midoriya questioned her.

"Ya-rororo~ I would have been if I lived a normal life. I would have graduated this year but I dropped out." Shina shrugged her shoulder as if it were no big deal. "Some of us on the other side don't lead an easy life. And you heroes just make it all the harder."

"It's such a shame that someone as young as you, can't see heroes for what they are." Midoriya felt sorry for her. All his life, he and others his age idolized heroes but this girl lived her life unable to appreciate heroes.

"Oh I can see the good that they do. The safety they provide. But for someone like me and what I have to do to scrap by, they don't make things easier."

"What you do, are the things that villains do. That decides it. Midoriya, forget about locating Yukihira for now. We'll capture her first."

"Right!"

" _Yukihira? They're looking for Todoroki? Not good. He wanted to schedule a meeting with me, so he's on his way here. But even if they're the same age as me, I shouldn't be underestimating them, these two seem like trouble, I might need his help getting out of here."_

"5%!"

Deku dashed from wall to wall to close the gap between him and Shina. Shina readily activated her phasing quirk.

" _If it's close combat then he'll go right through me. Then I'll take him down and deal with that blondie."_

"10% Delaware Smash!" Midoriya kept his distance and tried to snipe her with the force from flicking his finger. One finger flicking had enough strength to cause a strong gust of wind but not enough to injure Midoriya.

"No way. I was so sure you'd go for the punch."

"I've faced Mirio before and none of my attacks could touch him. If you two truly have similar quirks, then there is no way I'd ever want to get close to you. But it doesn't seem like you can slip through the ground. Maybe your quirk isn't permeation but phasing? If so, then Mirio has the upper hand here."

" _I knew this kid looked familiar. I saw him during the Yuuei sports festival. He's that analytical one with insane strength. This is going to be a problem. Real problem. Even if Todoroki arrives, he can't use his fire or it'd give away his identity and if I recall, didn't Midoriya push Todoroki to his limits? Ya-ro…really bad."_

Mirio appeared behind her, "You seem to be thinking too much."

In a panic, Shina swiped to grab a hold of him but he activated his quirk giving her nothing to grab onto.

"Ya-rororo, I've never…been on the…receiving end of that." Shina panted heavily in between her sentence.

"Cool, I'll give you more things to be on the receiving end of." Mirio punched at Shina but she made him phase through her. Oddly enough, Mirio's blow connected and she fell across the floor.

"No way, I can't phase through your attacks."

"I told you didn't I? I'd make sure, that I'd be the first one to make you experience that." Mirio cracked his knuckles.

"Ya-roro~ You'd make me feel things I've never felt before for the first time? Oh you perverted boy." Shina winked seductively as she cleaned off any dirt on her skirt.

Mirio slipped into the ground and struck for an uppercut through the ground but Shina caught on and avoided the blow. Mirio began swimming through the ground. Shina carefully examined her surrounding, turning her head around rapidly. In a narrow alleyway, Mirio could appear from any angle in any direction. She felt like the prey getting circled by the alligator that was Mirio.

" _She's distracted!"_ Midoriya took note of Shina's glance. She had forgotten he was there in the first place. _"Against someone like Mirio,it'd be a waste of energy for her to activate her quirk. Now's my chance. I'll have to up the notch to 25%."_

Midoriya shuffled against the walls to try to be as sneaky and unnoticeable as possible. He took a runner's start then activated 25% of One for All. Green electricity surged throughout his entire body. By exerting himself to 25%, he could feel his body straining itself but to be a hero, he didn't mind. He barely noticed it. He launched towards an unsuspecting Shina, preparing to deliver a shoot-style kick. Shina tilted her body, feeling the sudden presence of Midoriya creeping up behind her. She extended her arm out to react to Midoriya's attack.

" _Too slow! You won't be able to activate your phasing in time!"_

By focusing her attention on Midoriya, Mirio synchronized his attack and again went for the high speed underground uppercut.

"Bang."

"W-what?" Midoriya had no idea why but his right leg was suspended in midair. The rest of his body scrambled while his leg stayed frozen in stasis. _"She's just pointing at me. What did she do?"_

In one quick motion Shina failed to dodge Mirio's uppercut. She flew into the air and away from where the action had taken place. But Mirio had lined himself up perfectly with where Midoriya had prepared to deliver a 25% shoot style to Shina. She released her body stop from Midoriya, who was unable to stop his own actions; it was like his body resumed the action he had planned against Shina and so, Mirio became on the receiving end of a devastating kick to his back, courtesy of his own partner. Mirio crashed into the wall, denting it by leaving an imprint of his body. Mirio then fell to the ground back first and stunned by what had transpired. Shina landed on the ground from Mirio's uppercut but recovered easily.

"Mirio!" Midoriya cried out from the guilt of kicking Mirio. "You…What did you do just now?"

"Ya-rorororo? What ever do you mean?" Shina gave him a sly smile as she winked at him. "That kick was of your own accord."

"I…I couldn't move my leg. I just hung in the midair, unable to land." Midoriya scanned the alleyway to find an explanation. "It doesn't look like trick wires or string."

"Instead of thinking, you should be paying attention to me because without your partner," Shina pointed at where Mirio's body had landed after the impact. "You can't touch me." Shina looked to where she was pointing and found that Mirio was no longer where was supposed to be.

"Instead of talking trash, you should be paying attention to your enemies. Your enemies are heroes; a little pain isn't enough to stop us." Mirio bled from his forehead. With a wide grin and blood pouring down his forehead, he looked more menacing than ever.

Mirio pushed Shina from her back and pinned her to the wall to cuff her hands together. As hard as she fought to break free, Mirio had a firm grip on her wrist.

"I haven't figured out how you stopped my attack. But I know why your phasing doesn't work against Mirio." Midoriya spoke as if they had obtained victory over Shina. "Your phasing…only works on solids or liquids but is vulnerable to gas. That's why the wind still affects you when you're phasing. However, when Mirio permeates himself, he's neither of those. His transparent form is a gas-like form that restricts you from phasing when he comes into contact."

"Weak to gas? Is that how it works, Shina? Nice to know. Now what's going on here?"

Mirio, Midoriya and Shina all turned their heads to the person standing before them. A half-masked, hooded man walked slowly towards them.

"Y-you're…him." Midoriya's eyes widened.

"Yukihira! Just the person we're looking for. These convenient coincidences today have been too kind. Must be our lucky day."

"Huh?" Todoroki dressed in his vigilante attire stood before them. He made sure to wear his vigilante attire since he was meeting up with a suspicious person such as Shina it was a good thing too. If Todoroki didn't wear this attire, Midoriya would have so many questions for him. "Looking for me?"

" _Good timing, Todoroki."_ Shina chuckled to herself, still resisting from Mirio's hold. "He's here to meet with me. We're friends."

"Acquaintances." Todoroki corrected her.

"Ah. So Sir Nighteye's suspicions are true. To be on good terms with a Trigger dealer while hunting down Trigger. You're not the harmless, good-spirited sort of vigilante, are you? Midoriya, you can handle this right?"

"Handle? I don't understand. I haven't done anything wrong." Todoroki felt the need to press on for more information.

"No, we don't have proof but Sir has classified you as a high level threat. Not that I would ever do it but he went as far as giving go-ahead to kill you." Midoriya grimaced at Yukihira. With Mirio tied up with Shina, he was alone on this one.

"Kill me? I'm sorry but nothing you're saying adds up. But if your boss wants me dead, then I see no need to cooperate with the likes of you and this _Sir Nighteye_ of yours."

Todoroki stretched his body before preparing himself for what he thought was to come.

" _A round two with Midoriya? This might get a little crazy and frankly, I really don't want to do this. Is there anyway to avoid a fight?"_

" _There's not much data to go on but if he's using an ice quirk then my experience battling Todoroki is all I've got. Luckily, unlike Todoroki, this guy doesn't have a fire quirk I have to worry about."_

"Wait, where's your partner?" Shina asked him while still pinned against the wall.

"He's not with me. There's a little…trust issue to worry about."

" _Good, that's one less thing to worry about. Alright, it's go time."_

Todoroki stomped his foot on the ground. He emitted ice from his foot and it crept towards Midoriya. The ice avoided him and circled around towards Mirio and Shina, causing the battlefield beneath them to be slippery with ice.

"Nice one, To- Yukihira!" Shina nearly blurted out the identity of the vigilante.

Shina kicked Mirio's leg hard. The attack swept Mirio off his feet thanks to the ice and he lost his grip on Shina. He landed hard against the floor and the wounds from before rattled his entire body. In the meantime, Shina scurried away from Mirio as far as she could.

"Mirio!"

"Shina, we're getting out of here. I didn't come here to fight."

"Trying to escape? I won't let you!" _"It's a little slippery but…"_

"Bang."

Midoriya evaded by side stepping out of the way and made his way towards Todoroki. Thanks to all the ice in the area, it allowed Midoriya to cool down. He worked up a sweat battling Shina and ice in the vicinity helped him regain some composure. Todoroki tried his best to block Midoriya's path by summoning chunks of ice from beneath. Midoriya was his classmate and friend, he had no plans to injure him in a skirmish.

" _The tips of the ice aren't spiky, they're flat. Is he trying to minimize injuries?"_ Midoriya thought of himself as he ran left and right, avoiding all the ice the vigilante threw at him. _"Is he just trying to get on our good side or is it possible that Sir Nighteye is wrong about this person?"_

Avoiding chunk after chunk, Midoriya saw an opening on the wall and activate his quirk to jump from wall to wall. With his last burst to close the gap, he ran on the walls for a few seconds before jumping on the ground and making a dash for Yukihira. He was flustered having to focus on Midoriya jumping from side to side at an insanely quick speed and didn't expect him to strike from the front. In a last second attempt, he barricaded the path ahead with ice, trying to obstruct Midoriya's path.

"Smash!"

Midoriya punched the barricade ahead of him into pieces. All the ice scattered in the air and the powerful gust that trailed after blinded Yukihira for a moment, concealing the whereabouts of his opponent. Midoriya used the change in terrain to his advantage. He crouched, as if he were snowboarding, gaining traction from the ice to stealthy slide behind Yukihira.

" _Shoot, I overshot it."_ There was too much momentum from Midoriya's movements for him to throw a smashing punch. But he had the opening, Todoroki had lost track of him, he couldn't just waste the opportunity. He reached his hand, grabbing a piece of his costume and dragged Todoroki with him.

"Gah!" Todoroki lost his breath. Midoriya had a firm grip on him and he was soaring in the air while being dragged against his will.

As he continued sliding, he used this opportunity to do a one arm shoulder throw. Todoroki landed on his back with a thud and was stunned for a moment, his ears ringing before he recovered. When he came to, he saw Midoriya standing over him charging up for a punch. While still on the ground, Todoroki called forth ice from the floor to push him away as far as possible and then hoisted himself back up. Entranced by Midoriya, he didn't suspect Mirio creeping up behind him.

"Bang. Bang." Shina pointed her finger guns at Mirio and Midoriya. Struggled as they may, they were both unable to move, unable to do anything. Shina's bodystop had immobilized them and shut them down completely. Todoroki had been startled to learn how Mirio was to taking him down, he couldn't have been more than a few feet away.

"This again?!"

"I…can't…move." Mirio had a difficult time speaking.

" _What can we do in this situation? She's pinned down my arm. I can't move it at all, it's stuck. Is it possible? Could she possess two quirks? Still, I can't figure out what it is. This is different from Stain's bloodcurdle. As long as I can't move from where I'm standing then there's absolutely nothing I can do. When the person I'm aiming for is standing right there in front, can I do nothing…again?"_

"What are you going to do with us?" Mirio winced. "We're vulnerable. We've been defeated. Go villain, finish me off but spare Midoriya."

"Wha-? Mirio…" Midoriya was shocked. Mirio had basically been ready to die. Die? They weren't even full fledged heroes yet.

"If the heroes win, the villain lives. But if the villains win, then the heroes die."

Yukihira walked past both Midoriya and Mirio, continuing on towards Shina.

"Me, a villain? You think I'm going to kill you? I'll spare both of you. Unlike that Nighteye, I'm not the type to kill people." Todoroki gave them a cold stare from the one visible eye.

"I've never killed anyone either! And I am not about to start now, rororo." Shina seemed pleased with her victory over them and then curtsied her Goth Lolita skirt, excusing herself.

"Let's get out of here, Shina."

Shina and Todoroki headed for the exit of this maze-like alleyway and when Shina let go of her finger guns, the spell on Midoriya and Mirio broke free. They both took a deep breath, sighing with relief that they came out alive.

"He was right there. We said it'd take forever to find him but he was right there. We let him get away, we failed our mission…again. Can we call ourselves heroes if we keep failing?" Midoriya slammed his fist against the ground, visibly upset about their loss.

Mirio patted a sobbing Midoriya on the head, "There's a victory in all this…that we're both alive." Mirio tried his best to cheer his kouhai up but after his little speech, he bit his lip until it bled, furious not just with failing this mission but multiple failures in a row. "Next time. We'll find them again and next time, the heroes will emerge victorious. We should consider ourselves lucky. If these were villains, it would have taken a turn for the worse."

"You're right. I didn't sense a villainous vibe from either of them. Judging from how he fought, he tried to be as safe as he could be. But Sir Nighteye is desperately on the hunt to bring Yukihira down. There's something he's not telling us, something he's hiding from us and if I'm being honest, I'm afraid to learn what it is."


	14. Search Party III: Suffer

"You want to infiltrate Shigaraki's Villain Alliance?" Shina stared at Todoroki with disbelief, "You're crazy."

"I've already heard that earlier today."

"Then that person is smart or maybe you're just dumb. With a plan like this, I'm not quite sure."

"Yuuei kept this quiet but the traitor you told me about before…forced students to take Trigger and they attacked my class. So this is a risk I'm willing to take."

"They attacked your class?"

"It must have been a message to All Might. I can't afford anything to happen to The Symbol of Peace. I can't afford anything to happen to my classmates."

"Is this how all heroes think?" Shina began to mock him. "Save my friends, save my family. Sacrifice myself if it means their happiness. It's so self-righteous that I might mistake those intentions for selfishness. But it's none of my business to interfere with the actions of a wannabe self-righteous hero."

"So, is that a yes?" Yukihira became annoyed with her tone.

"Yes. If you want, I can set it up right now."

"N-now?" Suddenly Yukihira's heart rate increased, his fingers felt numb and cold. He broke out in a cold sweat. The plan he felt confident in now felt real.

"Yeah. Today is my observation report with Shigaraki. Can't say I'm excited to say the least."

Kurogiri warped himself before the Trigger dealer Shina and the vigilante Yukihira. He stood composed, showing no sign of a reaction to the unexpected guest side by side with Shina.

"Shall we get going?" Kurogiri ignored the presence of Yukihira and went straight to business.

"Can he come along?" Shina referred to Yukihira.

"I have no objections. Whether there's a use for him or not is for Shigaraki to decide." Kurogiri politely bowed his head. "Good luck."

" _Good luck? I don't like the sound of that."_

Todoroki entered Kurogiri's portal, following behind Shina. On the other side of the portal was a rundown warehouse. Todoroki recognized the person leaning against the wall. The sluggish posture, creepy grin hiding behind a creepy hand. Without a doubt it was Shigaraki, anticipating Shina's arrival.

Todoroki scanned around the warehouse for the other villains working beside Shigaraki. There stood a man in a full body suit who looked a bit reserved to himself. Next, a petite, playful looking blonde girl wearing a terrifying mask, sitting with her legs sprawled out and shaking her legs. Lastly, Todoroki saw a familiar face, one he had confronted back during the school field trip. The young man with purple, wrinkly skin and stitches that looked like they kept his body together from crumbling apart.

" _Dabi."_

His aura and his glare threatened Todoroki. It was a good thing he was wearing his vigilante costume because if Dabi knew who Yukihira was under the mask, he would have attacked him right then and there. In the past, he and Dabi had fought against one another, with Todoroki struggling to keep up. Dabi's flames were more powerful, fearsome than his and could melt his ice almost instantly. If there was anyone who had to be wary of, it was Dabi. Shigaraki on the other hand, paid little attention to the fact that Shina had brought a guest.

"Yo Shina, your report on Trigger?"

"Here." Shina handed him a written, typed report bided together by a single paper clip. As usual, the report would be riddled with the small, clumsy errors that any average high school student would make.

"Kurogiri." Shigaraki would then chuck the report at Kurogiri for him to summarize because he'd be too lazy to interpret and understand it himself.

Kurogiri sighed as he graciously received the report from his leader. Not like Kurogiri particularly enjoyed reading the reports himself but someone had to do it.

"You can go now." Shigaraki shooed her away.

" _That's it? That didn't even take a minute. I expected their meetings to be longer."_ Todoroki spoke up. "Wait, I have something to say!

"Hah? Something to say? I thought you were a guard hired by Shina to protect her…from me." Between the fingers of the creepy hand on Shigaraki's face. You could see his eyes were filled with joy from the thought that someone feared him.

Todoroki glanced over towards Shina. Her expressions were a closed book but her fingers which were hidden from all eyes except for Todoroki's, kept twitching and shaking.

" _Protection from Shigaraki? Shina? Now that I'm face to face with him, he really is as crazy as everyone says."_ "I'd much rather be one of your guards than Shina's. I want to join the League of Villains." From the mask of his vigilante attire, Todoroki's single revealed eye bulged out to match Shigaraki's insanity.

"Interesting. But how do I know you're the real deal?"

" _But at this moment, I'll be just as crazy as he is."_

Todoroki stomped his right foot and from there, ice flew out in every direction. All members of the League were on red alert and as the ice rocketed towards them. Shigaraki touched the ice and it decayed before him. Kurogiri opened up a portal. Dabi formed flames to melt the ice. Toga back flipped away and Twice brought out his sharp measuring tapes from his wristbands to carve the ice away. Every person there, including Shina stood aggressively with intimidating stares directed towards Todoroki. By the end of it, the entire room transformed into a glacial cave.

"Hahaha!" Except for Shigaraki. "Nice, that was fantastic!" He couldn't contain his laughter as he applauded the display that this unexpected visitor gave him.

"The balls on this kid." Twice spat. He had the urge to split but tried his best to remain himself.

Shigaraki spread his arms out, welcoming Todoroki with open arms. "We've been lacking some manpower since Magne's unfortunate death. Welcome. You've impressed me with that move. But if you pull something like that again, against your comrades then I won't let it slide."

"I've been taking down Trigger buyers, trying to get your attention. Glad that I finally have it."

"That was you? People have been calling you a vigilante."

"Heheh, I sure did a good job of fooling them." Todoroki was lying through his teeth but made an attempt to sound as convincing as possible. He tried his best to play the villain that Shigaraki wanted him to be. Trying his best to fool Shigaraki and all the other villains in the room.

" _He plays a better villain than he does a hero…"_ Shina kept her distance from the conversation.

Shigaraki's grinned widely, showing all his teeth. "I like it. I know a thing or two about fooling people."

Shigaraki referencing his spy within Yuuei ranks. Todoroki wanted to remain on the same wavelength as Shigaraki but his lips trembled and his expression became a mix between anger and smug. The other members let out a light chuckled because some of them were also spies within Overhaul's ranks.

"Everyone has their reasons for being here." Shigaraki proceeded to place a comforting hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "You have nothing to fear. As long as we are under my leadership, you and every other person here is special."

" _What did he say…?"_

"So, I'm not going to ask you to take off your mask. It's a part of you, your identity, I get it. It takes time, it takes trust but…I'll be waiting for the day that you show what's underneath."

" _He's being…nice? No. This is Shigaraki we're talking about. He's a lunatic, hell bent on killing All Might and bring to the world to its knees. But the way he talks, his charismatic vibe, the way he draws you in. It's just like…Midoriya."_

"But you, Shina. You're not special. Of course, if you join me, that could easily change. I may even consider ranking you above Himiko."

"Hey! I'll stab her one day!" Himiko flailed, dangerously swinging her knife around.

"I dunno how many times I gotta tell you this but I'm not a villain and I don't plan to ever be one!" Shigaraki's invitation rattled Shina that she spoke informally and less polite than usual. "I'm not a villain and I'm not a villain. I'm a mercenary~"

"A mercenary who has aligned herself with the League of Villains, you're pretty much one of us." Todoroki joined in on the conversation.

" _One of us? You're a Yuuei student and the son of the new number 1 hero!"_

"One of us? This guy literally joined a minute ago." Dabi stood with his back against the wall, playing around with his flames and melting down any ice near him.

"Hey, play nice with the new kid. Who knows, he could be a cutie under that mask~hehe." Himiko playfully waved her fingers at Todoroki. "Who knows, if you spend enough time together you could become brothers~"

"Brothers? I'm not really a fan of families." Dabi started to walk away from the entire commotion to do his own thing.

Himiko leaped onto Dabi's back with her arms wrapped over his shoulders. She was a petite girl but with effort, she dragged Dabi, having him struggle to walk. "Whaaaat? You mean you don't see me as your irresistibly adorable little sister?"

"… _Weird. I guess even villains can be human sometimes."_ Todoroki took a deep breath, staring at his new companions. He had gone and successfully infiltrated the Villain Alliance but just standing in their presence took all of us his willpower to not crack under pressure. "I think I'm about done here. I'm ready to leave, Kurogiri."

* * *

"You're here? I've been looking for you everywhere."

After being unable to stop Todoroki from his absurd plan to infiltrate the League of Villains, Yaoyorozu had gone searching for someone else she thought could get through to him, Hitoshi Shinsou. She searched across Yuuei's campus, asking teachers and students on his whereabouts with no information to help. She had just assumed he wasn't anywhere near Yuuei so she headed back to the dorms to rest and there she found him, chatting it up with Jirou.

"Me? What do ya want?" Shinsou didn't interact with Yaoyorozu often but when he did, it often had to do with one other person, Todoroki.

Yaoyorozu took time to catch her breath. It kind of upset her that after searching everywhere, he was as close as could be.

"I have something to tell you. It's important."

" _Oh my god, a confession?"_ Jirou stared innocently at her two friends, alternating between them to see their reactions and expressions. _"Maybe that's why he always wants to hang out at the dorms? It must make his day just to get a glimpse of Yaoyorozu's beautiful figure. All that stalking has finally paid off. Good luck, Shinsou!"_ It almost brought a tear to Jirou's eye. If Shinsou knew how oblivious Jirou was, he'd be the one shedding tears.

"It's about Todoroki."

" _Oh no. Poor Shinsou. I'm sorry but against someone like him, you stand no chance at winning her heart."_

Shinsou sighed, "No surprise there, of course it is."

" _You must be tired to have the person you like, rambling on about another guy. Hang in there. Fight on!"_

Yaoyorozu glimpsed over at Jirou whose ears had perked up. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah." Shinsou had a new idea of what Yaoyorozu would want to talk about. He and Todoroki were vigilantes and the only person that knew this fact was none other than Yaoyorozu. He tapped Jirou's shoulder before following Yaoyorozu, "I'll be back in a second."

Jirou waved him away getting ready to tease him, "Don't worry about it, take your time. But don't get any strange thoughts just because you'll be alone with a girl."

"I don't have strange thoughts when I'm with you."

Jirou blushed at his comment, "Wha- Nghhhh." She held her body tightly and jerked it in the other direction. _"The way he says it so nonchalantly! First Mineta, then Kaminari, now him! I know I'm a tomboy but do I have ZERO sex appeal?!"_

"After you." Being the gentleman that he is, let Yaoyorozu lead the way.

Yaoyorozu tried to determine a spot to talk but she had been walking all day and wanted to stay close. It made her really uncomfortable to invite Shinsou to her room, especially with Shinsou's quirk being what it is but the topic of conversation needed privacy, away from lurking ears.

" _After a comment like that, there's no way I wouldn't take this chance to obtain some spicy information."_ Jirou expected the conversation to be about love and with or without their permission, she wanted in on the details but only so she would have the upper hand to tease him.

Jirou knew they would head up to Yaoyorozu's room. It was the best place to have an intimate, private conversation. She was familiar with the layout of the dorms. Jirou's room was on the third floor, Uraraka's above hers and Yaoyorozu's room directly above floors above Uraraka's room. She headed towards her own room, stuck her earphone jack through the wall, past Uraraka's room extended the jack to her limits and planted it in a spot where it would go unnoticed.

Inside Yaoyorozu's room, Shinsou tried to keep his distance as far from Yaoyorozu as possible. She sat with both hands on her lap and dignified posture and Shinsou stood sluggishly with his back against the wall and hands in his pockets.

"Hurry up and get this over with. It's my first time in a girl's room and this is weird."

"Y-your first time? Oh gosh, I didn't mean to intrude. My apologies for stealing that experience from you."

"J-just hurry up! Out with it!" Shinsou became flustered, almost tripping over his words.

"Right. Down to business. Are you aware what Todoroki's up to today?"

"Not really. To be honest, he hasn't even talked to me since the attack from Class B. I thought it was a bit strange but it doesn't bother me one bit. Life has been pretty peaceful when he's off doing his own thing."

"Oh he's off doing his own thing, no need to remind me!" Yaoyorozu's blood boiled. It wasn't Shinsou's fault but she felt the need to lash out at someone. "He's…He's…"

" _Is Todoroki meeting up with another girl on the side? I mean, Momo and Todoroki aren't dating…I don't think. So I wouldn't exactly be considering it cheating."_ Jirou misinterpreted the situation at hand, assuming they were on the topic of love.

Yaoyorozu caught her breath, _"I can't say that's being suspected of being the traitor because if Shinsou does happen to be-…"_

"He thinks I'm the traitor. Because Class B looked like they were brainwashed. Is that it?"

"Th-that's part of it."

"Part? You mean there's more?"

" _Oi oi…what in the world?"_ Jirou remained with her her ears glued to the wall. She stumbled upon something more important than matters of love.

"He must be feeling guilty over suspecting all of his friends. He's become desperate to learn the identity of the traitor."

"How desperate are we talking here?"

"He's trying to infiltrate the Villain Alliance as Yukihira."

"…Haha…" Shinsou laughed awkwardly. He didn't know whether it was a joke or not. "Ridiculous." He shuffled around in a circle before regained his position against the wall. "You're lying." He stared at Yaoyorozu biting her bottom lip, holding her breath. "You're…not lying."

She closed her eye shuts, shaking her head regretfully. "No."

"Then Todoroki is a goddamn fucking idiot. He would rather do… _that_ , than confront me about being the traitor. He's going to get himself killed. I've heard things. The leader is a psycho who has not only successfully kidnapped Bakugou under Yuuei supervision but has been groomed by the same guy who went toe to toe with All Might. Even when I become a hero, I don't ever want a mission involving him.

Yaoyorozu sat silently as she stared off at the wallpaper of her room. It had been on her mind all day.

"I've seen him before on multiple occasions. He's every bit of scary as you think he is."

"We have to stop him." Shinsou looked ready to make a run for it.

"It's too late, he's probably already meeting with them."

"Or he's…" Shinsou refrained from saying that last bit. This ordeal took a lot out of Yaoyorozu, he didn't need to make things worse. "We'll save him."

"We're not strong enough. I'm not strong enough."

"We'll tell the teachers."

"If they learn what he's been doing his entire time he'll be expelled from Yuuei."

"If they learn what I've been doing, they'll expel _me_ from Yuuei and I'd rather that than the worse case scenario."

Yaoyorozu paused, thinking long and hard about what to do. It was choices like these that would determine those fit to be a hero. _"If I accepted Todoroki's wishes and he got hurt, could I ever call myself a hero? Could I ever look myself in the mirror, knowing I could have done something?"_ Yaoyorozu's had a stern expression, she looked determined and confident in her response, "We'll tell sensei."

* * *

" _What? No. What? WHAT? I totally did not expect any of that!"_ Jirou backed away from the wall and balanced herself from tumbling over. _"Todoroki is Yukihira? And Shinsou is also Yukihira?! So they've been practicing heroics as a vigilante? When neither of them have licenses?"_

Jirou paced around the room, taking deep breath to calm down and absorb the information she eavesdropped. But she couldn't calm down, not in her room. She tripped as she opened the door to the hallway, crashing against a wall.

" _Do I confront them? But then they've know I listened in without their permission. Do I tell sensei? But then Todoroki and Shinsou could be expelled."_

"Whoa, Jirou. Are you okay? You don't look great." Kaminari munched on a granola bar that he had stashed in his room on his way down to the common floor to get more snacks but backtracked when he heard a thud coming from the girls' hallway.

"I came across something I shouldn't have." Jirou slowly started to lose feeling in her legs. "I don't know what to do with this information."

"Huh? Information? If ya want, I'd lend an ear, hear you out. Sometimes just saying it will make you feel better."

"An idiot like you…? Why not? Can you keep a secret?" The air around Jirou felt heavy and she desperately wanted to lift the weight off her shoulders.

Kaminari winked as he jabbed his thumb to his chest, "Heh, I'd like to think I'm pretty good at that."

Jirou took a good look at the idiot standing before her, "I find that hard to believe but I have to share this with someone. Now listen up because what I'm going to tell you, stays between us."

* * *

Yaoyorozu and Shinsou had gone in search of Aizawa to no avail, he probably just fell asleep somewhere no one would bother him. They went to the next teacher, who had considerable influence and barged into his personal staff room.

"All Might!" Shinsou and Yaoyorozu charged in, yelling at the same time.

They walked in to find Midoriya with his head drooped down, in another one of his consultation sessions with All Might holding a coffee mug in hand.

"Oh…sorry." Yaoyorozu apologized but stayed in the room. "But this is extremely important. It's about the vigilante Yukihira." Yaoyorozu tried to keep Todoroki's name out of this but Midoriya's ears perked up at the mention of that name.

"What a coincidence, we were here talking about Yukihira. Isn't that right, my boy?"

Midoriya nodded in agreement, "Yeah." He continued on with his story. "Sir Nighteye, the boss of my internship gave an order to capture him and if that's not possible…to kill him."

"That…" Shinsou hesitated to open up, telling them about Todoroki would mean exposing himself in illegal heroic activities but it was the right thing to do. "That would mean killing-…"

"You can't!" Yaoyorozu cried out as she interrupted, "You can't kill him! Because the person underneath Yukihira's mask…is Todoroki!"

"W-what?!" Toshinori sat there, shocked. "I knew I had a reason to be worried. But to turn to vigilantism. It is my responsibility as a teacher to set students on the proper path to being a hero. He came to me, confided in me and somewhere along the way he must have thought it would be okay to go against the law. This…this is all my fault, I had the power to stop this."

"It's not your fault, All Might. I don't want to be the one to say this, but no matter what you did, I don't think your words would be able to sway Todoroki." Midoriya tried to comfort his mentor.

"What's that supposed to mean, Midoriya?!" Yaoyorozu looked down on him from her seat.

Suddenly he was on the hot seat, "Uh, well, you see. Ummmm. I didn't mean anything bad about Todoroki. It's just…Sir is on the hunt for him for a reason and just earlier today, I saw him come to the defense of a Trigger dealer. You know, Trigger, the drug that caused Class B to turn on us? She could have intel on what happened that day."

"Yeah, her intel is that it's the spy working with the Villain Alliance!" Shinsou told him.

"A…spy?" Midoriya is now officially lost.

"Wait, you never heard anything about a spy?" Yaoyorozu looked lost herself, in the back of her mind All Might seemed close enough to tell Midoriya everything.

"You two know about the spy as well?!" Toshinori's teeth chattered, his eyes darted around the room, he knew there would be some explaining to do and some secrets to expose. "I think now would be a good time to tell each other everything we know."

"Yes." The three students agreed.

* * *

Yaoyorozu and Shinsou had scooped up a chair lying in the room and got comfortable. A good hour passed as they all told their perspective stories and by the end of it, Midorya had learned the most.

"So let me get this straight." Midoriya proceeded to list each point, finger by finger. "Todoroki is the vigilante Yukihira. You, Shinsou, are his partner in crime."

"I don't like to think of it as a 'crime'."

"There is a high chance that a first year student within Class A is a traitor who works for Shigaraki's team and to find out who that person is, Todoroki himself is spying on them. He can only infiltrate thanks to that Trigger dealer named Shina, who also works with Shigaraki."

"For. Shina works _for_ Shigaraki." Shinsou clarified any mistakes Midoriya made. "If I recall, she doesn't consider herself a villain nor a member of the Villain Alliance."

"Right…"

"Don't forget, that you want to kill Todoroki!" If glares could kill, then Yaoyorozu would have already killed Deku.

"W-w-what? No! Just because Sir has orders, does not mean I follow them blindly. Yaoyorozu, you have it all wrong, I would never kill anyone. That goes against my beliefs as a hero! It was always my intention to capture him alive, him being Todoroki doesn't change a thing."

"That better be the truth…or else I'll make sure Uraraka never talks to you again."

"H-h-h-huh?! W-w-what were you planning?"

Yaoyorozu leaned forward. Her mouth close to his ear that he felt the light breath from her mouth as she whispered. "Like say…brand you a glorified pervert by replicating a pair of her panties and stashing it in your room."

"U-Uraraka's…panties?" Midoriya's eyes widen, his face turned red and his nostrils flared from the mere thought. "Y-you wouldn't dare place me in the same group as Mineta!"

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. As long as you don't harm Todoroki, there's no need to worry."

"Ahem." Toshinori cleared his throat. "Focus everyone. You say Todoroki is meeting with Shigaraki today. Which means he may very well be in grave danger as we speak. But if we don't know where they are. We can't send help."

"I planted a tracker on him before he headed out." Yaoyorozu handed the former #1 hero a GPS device which displayed Todoroki's location.

"I see." He scanned the details of Todoroki's location. "If we follow this device here, then he would be in the vicinity of an abandoned factory. A perfect hideout for villains if I do say so myself." He looked around the room, reading the worried faces of his students. Toshinori may have retired the All Might name but the embers of his heroic spirit will never burn out. "If we calm down and think rationally, Todoroki's plan may have worked and he'll walk out safe and sound."

Shinsou cracked his knuckles, "Heheh, if only that were the case. Then we'll give him a thorough lesson."

"But…" Toshinori took a dramatic pause, "My instincts tell me that Todoroki is in grave danger. I believe that we should prepare for the worse case scenario. Young Shinsou, Yaoyorozu I need you two to inform the staff. Midoriya and I will head out first and rendezvous on the outer perimeter of the factory." He pointed where he meant on the GPS device, which was a safe spot about 10 blocks away, far enough to avoid drawing Shigaraki's attention.

"You're coming along?! But All Might…you can no longer…" At this very moment, Midoriya could feel the power his mentor passed down to him, the same power that his mentor could no longer use. He heard the quote, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' Now, more than ever, did Midoriya take those words to heart. The pressure of being unable to rely on All Might had become normal to him and it made him sick to his stomach.

"I need to have a word with Todoroki. He believes that he should carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. A failure of this caliber would be downright humiliating. He'd be afraid of his punishment he'd receive for initiating such a plan and for being a vigilante. That is why, even if we rescue him, he may not be so cooperative. I can't help but take some of the blame for his actions. But…"

" **Yeah, yeah, no need to nag me, Dad."**

" _ **I could have sworn young Todoroki said…"**_

" _You must see me as a father figure. That's why, I believe… you'll listen to what I have to say and if you listen to what I have to say, then you will make the right choice and you won't run away."_ Toshinori turned his attention to Midoriya and rubbed his student's shaggy hair, "Besides, I trust you Midoriya my boy. With you at my side, I can rest assured that you'll protect me from anything and anyone. Hahaha!"

"Yeah but…"

"I'll try my best not to be a burden."

Yaoyorozu clapped her hands to get the attention of the room, "We're wasting time. Let us hurry, for Todoroki's sake!"

* * *

"Now, now. Leaving already? What's all the rush?" Shigaraki cackled. "We should hold a party for our newest member."

Todoroki was about ready to leave through Kurogiri's portal when Shigaraki put a halt to those plans after receiving a phone call. Todoroki had had it here, he wanted to leave. The longer he stayed here, the easier it'd be to break him down.

"Sorry Shigaraki, but I have somewhere I have to be." Todoroki tried to make an excuse to escape.

"Somewhere you have to be? You can't even make time for me, when I so graciously made time for an unexpected visitor like you?" Shigaraki seemed a bit ticked off. He had turned from a friendly leader to an aggressive tyrant after that phone call.

"I…I…I"

"I…I…I" Shigaraki mocked the stammering Todoroki. "Are you going to finish that sentence, are you just wasting my time or are you shitting your pants right now?"

Todoroki tried to start a conversation with Shina through eye contact, _"What the hell happened to Shigaraki?"_ His left leg was shaking nonstop, he kept tickling his own knee, any habitual reaction to calm down.

Shina's face was an open book. The worried, scared, open eyed expression she had on, an expression one would make if they had indeed learned they shit their pants. All she could did is shrug her shoulders as a response.

"Hey!" Shigaraki poked the forehead of Todoroki, "Look at me when I ask you a question. Because if you don't, the next time I poke your forehead, you may just find it slowly crumbling away."

Todoroki nervousness had caused a sweat drop to fall onto Shigaraki's finger, but that didn't bother either of them. "You…you know, don't you?"

" _No…oh no. No no no no no."_ The colour had dropped from Shina's face.

" _Uh oh, did Yukihira go all stabby stabby on Shigaraki before?"_ Himiko stared on as an innocent but eager spectator.

" _Have they met before? Who cares?"_ Dabi sighed, less excited as what was going on than Himiko, who had successfully hung onto his back and swung around like a ragdoll whenever he moved.

"Hahaha." Shigaraki's had his iconic creepy, villainous grin. "Know what? That you're one of Shina's contacts? That you're a Yuuei student? That you're a child of the number one hero, Endeavor? That you're…"

"Todoroki Shouto." Dabi's instantly became interested in the conversation that he didn't even care about the excess weight on his shoulders caused by Himiko.

" _Shit."_ Todoroki and Shina both realized the peculiar position they were in and things were turning sour.

Somehow, Shigaraki had figured it out. Maybe, he knew the entire time and simply played them to give them false hope. All they knew was that the jig was up and they had to find an escape and fast. Shina exhausted most of her energy fending off Mirio and Midoriya alone, in a dire situation like this, it fell on Todoroki to provide most of the offense but considering who they were up against, it didn't really matter if they were both at 100%.

"Yeah you were right. This plan _was_ crazy."

Shina raised a hand to her ear, "Hmm? Say that again?"

"Can you brag _after_ we get out of this?"

"I'm taking any chance I can get because I don't see any way we're getting out of this one."

"I'll think of something." Todoroki snuck his phone out of his pocket and similar to Midoriya's distress signal against their confrontation against Stain, Todoroki leaked out his location to all of his contacts. _"There's going to be a lot of explaining to do…but if we can take out the Villain Alliance today…I'll accept any consequence."_

"Hey, Himiko."

"Hmmm? What's up Shigaraki?" She asked, still on Dabi's shoulder.

"Take this." Shigaraki send a text on his phone before tossing it to her. "I'm trusting you with this, don't lose it."

Himiko hopped off Dabi and caught the phone effortlessly, 'ouuuing' and 'ahhhing' at the phone of her leader.

"Read it," Shigaraki pointed at her, "And follow the instructions, this is something only you can do."

"Only I can do?" Himiko curiously skimmed through the phone, oblivious and unfazed by the situation at hand.

Todoroki fired shards of ice at her, hoping to injure her and break the phone but Dabi stepped in and melted it with his flames.

"Pay attention."

"Kay~" Himiko nodded while continuing to focus solely on the phone. "Hmmm. Mmmm. Yup, like, I think I got it. Hehehe, this is going to feel so, so, soooooo good! Alright! I'm of-"

Shina shot off a body shot to Himiko's face, which froze her in place. "Crazy little yandere-chan~, you're not going anywhere! Todoroki, take her out!"

"Her? She's leaving! We want to reduce the number of people to fight!"

"Shigaraki NEVER gives his phone to anyone for any reason. There's something I can't explain but we can't let her leave."

"You annoying little-"

With the pointing of her other finger, she had managed to freeze Himiko and Shigaraki. But that was her limit of her body shot. One hand per person and there was still Kurogiri, Dabi and Twice to deal with.

"Clear the path for us!" Shina instructed of her client.

Todoroki send out ice spikes towards Twice and fire to combat Dabi. With the ease of his measuring tapes, Twice sliced up any and every speck of ice commanded by Todoroki. Dabi on the other hand, had been training his quirk all his life and slowly but surely, overpowered Todoroki's flames. Twice charged at the duo, swinging around his measuring tape. Shina let go of her grip on Shigaraki and Himiko to avoid getting her finger sliced off.

"Bitch. Hmmm?" Shigaraki looked left and right and at the floor, at the scattered bits of ice that appeared out of nowhere. "Ahhh man. You shot me…didn't you? You'll regret that Shina. And what are you still doing here Himiko?! Go."

"Aye yai!"

* * *

Midoriya jumped from building to building holding his mentor like a damsel in distress in both his arms. All Might threw away his pride. Being carried by Midoriya is a much faster option than running, and also easier on his legs. As Midoriya travelled, All Might held the GPS device in his hand, impatient to see how long it would take to reach their destination.

"Stop right here, Midoriya."

They landed on top of a building 2 kilometers away from the abandoned factory where Todoroki and Shigaraki. Luckily, thanks to All Might's quick thinking, he brought along binoculars which gave him a bit of vision on the entrance to the factory.

"Now, we wait to reinforcements." Midoriya crossed his legs as he sat down patiently. His phone beeped loudly, scaring him and All Might out of their seat. "What the…"

"Hmm? Hey, hey!" All Might jumped up as Midoriya body searched him. He was busy looking at the entrance of the abandoned factory. "What are you doing my boy?"

Midoriya searched through All Might's pockets until he found what he was looking for, "Got it!"

He lifted the GPS which was according to Yaoyorozu, tracking Todoroki and compared that location to the text message sent by Todoroki, it was a match. The good news, they were in the right place and already preparing to save Todoroki. The bad news is that Todoroki would only have one reason to send a text of his location.

"Todoroki's in danger!"

All Might and Midoriya looked at each other. That voice belonged to neither of them. They shared a glance and agreed to check out the source of the voice but the voice reached out first.

Kaminari greeted them with a happy wave, "Yo! We've been looking for you guys EVERYWHERE!"

Jirou followed behind him, panting exhausted from running up the stairs to reach the rooftops.

"W-what are you two doing here?" All Might put a hand on both their shoulders. "Its…its…dangerous here."

"Me and Jirou spotted you two leaving Yuuei in a hurry. We tried calling out to you but I guess you couldn't hear."

"So we followed you.

"My idea." Kaminari bragged.

"We figured that it had something to do with Todoroki."

"And we were right!" Kaminari happily showed Todoroki's text to Midoriya and All Might.

"He is super happy for being correct, guess an idiot like him has to celebrate at the little things." Jirou shook her head, "Except this isn't a time to celebrate."

"Ahhhhhh!" All Might returned to his binoculars and the entrance to the abandoned factory. The door was open but thanks to the entrance of Kaminari and Jirou, he couldn't see who exited. _"Ahhh, not good."_

"It's a good thing you're both here. We need all the help we can get!" Midoriya felt relief at the sight of them. "If anything happened, I don't think I could have protected All Might by myself."

"Protecting All Might. Never thought I'd ever hear that phrase. There's an irony in all this." Jirou plugged herself into the building hoping to hear the footsteps of any invaders.

"Soooo we're just waiting for…what?" Kaminari fell to the ground back first. The other three were on lookout while Kaminari, without a care in the world, was on his back and looking at the sky.

"Yaoyorozu and Shinsou called for backup. We think Todoroki may have confronted the Villain Alliance and need the pros to get involved with this." Midoriya answered Kaminari's question.

The wind blew gently, the city streets below them were near empty, at this time of the day, most people would have gone home from work. To the four on the rooftop, this quiet streets and gentle breeze were a calm before the storm.

"I hear something. Footsteps, one person." Jirou alerted everyone in the vicinity.

Midoriya enhanced his power, bringing it to 5%. Kaminari charged up his body, shrouding it in electricity and All Might trusted them enough to keep his binoculars on the entrance of the factory.

"Creeeeeeeak."

The door to the rooftops opened, everyone on edge was ready to fire their quirks at the person. Their fingers shaking, tension at an all time high, they all held their breath, waiting to see who would pop, when it was none other than a certain sluggish, bandaged Eraserhead.

"Yo?"

"Aizawa-sensei!" Kaminari looked extremely excited at the appearance of his teacher.

"Well…that's a relief." Jirou quipped.

Midoriya ran over to his homeroom, "You got here quick. Where's everyone else?"

"E-e-everyone else?" Aizawa's face turned red and embarrassingly admitted, "I went on ahead. I couldn't help but worry. I…uh…hurried as fast as I could."

"Worried for me?" All Might chuckled to himself, "Hoho, I'm flattered, honestly."

"What's the point?" Midoriya glanced at Aizawa, confused. "We're waiting for all the other pros. We can't take down the Villain Alliance with the people here."

"We can try!" Kaminari shoved his phone in Midoriya's face, he could clearly see Todoroki's message. "Todoroki is in danger NOW."

"Kaminari's right. If we don't do something now, it'll be too late. I'm the pro here. I'm in charge."

"O-okay…" To Midoriya, he understood why they should rush, they didn't want to arrive to a dead Todoroki and he definitely did not want to explain it to Yaoyorozu or Endeavor. But they didn't _need_ to rush, the safer plan would be to wait, to avoid as many causalities possible.

"Midoriya Izuku, All Might. You're with me." Aizawa-sensei was already taking charge and giving out orders. "Ah, actually scratch that. Midoriya Izuku, you're mobile enough to scout the area, Jirou, your hearing will help with that, go with him."

"Sorry sensei, the plan's unclear. You want Midoriya and I to move on ahead and scout?"

"That's right. Me, All Might and Kaminari will patiently wait for the pros to arrive. Since we're all worried about Todoroki, you'll inspect the factory and report back to see how much time we have left."

"Thanks for clarifying. Haha, you weren't explaining it properly, so I had my doubts." Midoriya admitted. "But Midoriya Izuku? Just Izuku, Midoriya or even Deku is fine."

Aizawa laughed, shaking Midoriya's comment off, "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it, I like, got it. Good luck, Izuku. Now, everyone, move out!"

* * *

 _ **AN:** It didn't even take one chapter for Todoroki's plan to go south. OWO_


	15. Search Party IV: Betrayal

_**AN: League of Villains? Villain Alliance? There's no consistency to when I use the term but I'll likely continue to use both.**_

 _ **Also I'll take a moment to address the recent chapters of the manga (chapter 155 atm) and say, Mirio, I'll try my best to have your quirk live on in this fic. One of my top 5 fav characters and then poof, gone ):**_

 _But enough about the awesomeness that is the manga._

Enjoy!

* * *

Following Aizawa's instructions, Midoriya and Jirou ventured onward to scout ahead on the abandoned factory. The streets leading up to the factory were deserted. Whether it due to the area or simply because everyone was off work, it made travelling to their destination a lot faster. Midoriya hopped from building to building using One for All. Jirou's quirk couldn't help her movements but thanks to previous hero training, she had somewhat increased her stamina and ran with her own two legs, trailing not far behind Midoriya.

Jirou's head swayed from side to side and her ears were swinging all over the place, "Ahhh damn, this is exhausting."

Midoriya stopped in his tracks with one finger on his lip, signaling to keep quiet and another hand out to signal that from this point forward, they should proceed with caution. Jirou had been so focused on trying to keep up that she hadn't notice they were practically a few steps away from the abandoned factory. With only hand gestures, Midoriya pointed to his ear and Jirou simultaneously and then the walls of the factory. She understood what he meant and first stuck one ear into the ground to hear if there were incoming footsteps, if anyone spotted them they would be in a tough position. The coast appeared to be clear, she removed her earphone from the ground and made a run for the wall as quietly as possible. With her last few steps, she performed an unnecessary somersault which made Midoriya raise an eyebrow.

Jirou silently celebrated with a fist pump, _"Oh yeah! Always wanted to do that."_ Then shook her head, _"But now is not the time for that."_ She stuck an earphone into the exterior wall of the factory.

Nothing. Just silence.

She waited for a couple of seconds until deciding to stick in her second earphone but she continued to hear nothing, which she conveyed to Midoriya with her own hand gestures. Feeling things were out of place, Midoriya took a page of Bakugou's reckless approach and smashed the front door open.

"It's…empty." Midoriya took a look at his phone. "This is the location Todoroki sent."

Midoriya scanned the area for any clues. There were burn marks on some of the scattered metal, crumbs of ice and wet marks which he assumed to be caused by melted ice.

"But they were here." Jirou commented. She stuck her earphone into the ground and walls of the factory, hoping to hear a peep from someone but to no avail. "But they're long gone now."

"The Villain Alliance has someone with a warp portal quirk. It'd be impossible to track them down unless Todoroki gives us another sign. But from the looks of it…" Midoriya found a phone on the ground, which he knew from seeing it from time to time, was Todoroki's. "I don't see that happening anytime soon, let's head back, quick."

* * *

"Where is everyone?" Midoriya examined the rooftop where Aizawa, Kaminari and All Might were supposed to be.

"Senseeeeei. Kaminaaaaari. All Might!" Jirou called out, sticking her earphones in the building they were in. She heard more than three pairs of footsteps…behind her?

A hand reached out on Jirou's shoulder, "Yo. What are you doing here?"

"Gah!" Jirou jumped up, whipping her earphones at her attacker. "Wait…Shinsou? And Yaoyorozu? And is that sensei?"

Following behind them were pro heroes such as Nighteye's agency, Kamui Wood and the most notable one being Endeavor and the heroes in his employment.

Jirou walked up to Aizawa and looked him dead in the eyes, "Where are All Might and Kaminari?"

"Hmmm? I'm not sure about Kaminari. But shouldn't All Might be with you, Midoriya?"

Midoriya's eyes widen with horror, his throat felt dry and lumpy at the same time, "N-no. Th-they should be with…you. Y-You arrived early and told us to inspect the factory right? That was you, right? You're joking, right? You can tell me where All Might is, right?"

* * *

" **Haha…no way, Todoroki's a vigilante? And he could be meeting with the Villain Alliance?"**

 **Jirou placed an index finger on her closed lips, grimacing for a brief moment, "Shhhhh."**

" **Oh man, that's stupid." Kaminari scratched his head, awkwardly smiling at the thought of this newfound information.** _ **"How stupid…and unfortunate."**_

" **They're going to meet with either Aizawa or All Might and tell them the truth. To be honest, it may be wrong to eavesdrop but I've gone this far, might as well listen to the whole story, are you joining me?" Jirou said, as she headed down the steps to tail Shinsou and Yaoyorozu.**

 **Kaminari followed after her, "Nah, can't, I've got some calls to make."**

" **Calls?"**

" **Nothing about Todoroki, honest!"**

" **Hnnnn." Jirou used her earphones to point at him, "If I learned that you blabbed your mouth, don't think you're getting off easy."**

" **Haha…I'll keep that in mind."**

 **Jirou and Kaminari exited the dorm, with Jirou tailing Shinsou and Yaoyorozu to their meeting. Meanwhile, Kaminari walked towards an isolated area of the school which had a view of the front entrance and pulled out his phone to make a call.**

" _ **Oh Jirou, by the time you've learned that I've blabbed my mouth, it'll be too late."**_ **Kaminari sighed,** _ **"How long can this go on? How many clichés do I have to hear? And if I hear one more, 'Everything's fine. Because I am here' I am gonna lose it."**_

* * *

~After the split~

Kaminari, All Might and Aizawa left the rooftop and were walking along the deserted streets, Aizawa had dragged a reluctant All Might by the wrist and after some persuasion decided to listen to his fellow teacher and pro hero. They walked in a line with Aizawa leading the charge and All Might in the middle.

"Ehhhh? Where are we going?"

"Away from here." Aizawa kept trying to rush them. "We've underestimated the League of Villains, they're cleverer than we thought. They have eyes all over the area. Let's take a turn here."

"Ah man, it reeks here." Kaminari covered his nose, "I hope you know where you're going you crazy bitch."

" _What_ _'_ _s going on with Kaminari? His unenthusiastic demeanor for this entire troublesome situation and needlessly hurling insults at Aizawa. He_ _'_ _s a different today. Aizawa_ _'_ _s also different. Him? Worried about me? He_ _'_ _d never say that to my face. And his face has a lot more colour to it than usual. No_ _…_ _don_ _'_ _t tell me._ _"_

"What'd you call me?!"

Aizawa pushed All Might to the side and entered a stand off with Kaminari. Aizawa reached in his pocket and out came a butterfly knife, brandishing it around his fingers and then entered a combat pose.

"You're not cute at all Kaminari. I don't think I can bring myself to like you. Midoriya is way way waaaaay better than you."

"Yeah, the fuck was that? You were blushing every time, staring every time at him. Hell, you almost ruined everything by trying to pair me off with Jirou." Kaminari posture became similar to a delinquent looking down on their prey. "If there's one thing I'd like to credit Yuuei with, it's that its definitely made me stronger. Strong enough to handle you, no problem."

"Oh yeah?" Aizawa threw his bandages at Kaminari as a diversion and then leapt towards the wall and pushed off with one foot, charging in with the knife.

Kaminari brought his stomach back, then ducked at the swing towards his head. He shrouded his hands with electricity, trying to grab a hold of Aizawa.

" _Th-this is quite the predicament I_ _'_ _ve found myself in. No worries, they_ _'_ _ve begun fighting amongst themselves, this is my chance!_ _"_ All Might sneakily made a run for it out of this maze like alleyway but it extended on with no end in sight. _"_ _This is bad. What a time to be powerless. Young Midoriya, find me!_ _"_

Kaminari and Aizawa continued fighting in the smelly alleyway, both covering their noses and at times holding their breath. Kaminari examined his surroundings, spotting a bag of garbage which could have a good conductor inside but it already smelled with the bag closed, no way would he open it.

"Looks like Yuuei taught you nothing."

"That's where you're wrong. I'm not the brightest person."

"Duh."

Kaminari's eyebrow twitched at the immediate comment, "But the people at Yuuei are helping me hone my quirk. They're teaching me new things. Luckily for me, I had someone in my class with a quirk for creating anything she wanted as long as she knew the molecular structure. And she knew what made a great conductor for electricity. Metals. Who knew?"

Aizawa stared with disbelief and disappointment, "Everyone? You're a bigger idiot than I thought. You don't deserve to be the third man."

"Haha, I guess I am an idiot for not knowing something so simple." Kaminari touched the pipes laid out across the sides of the alleyway walls. "1 million volts."

The electricity surged through the pipe and jumped to the other side of the wall's pipes, enclosing them from the waist up. But they could easily duck out of the electrical barrier. The electricity jumped into the knife he held which caused him jump back and throw the knife behind Kaminari.

"Owie!"

That distraction was all Kaminari needed before he closed the gap and grabbed a hold of Aizawa's shoulder, electrifying his entire body.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!" The shocks stunned Aizawa, making it a struggle to escape from Kaminari's grip.

Kaminari planned to turn up the voltage but stopped after the smell of the alleyway grew more intense. He looked back to see that Aizawa's knife had cut a hole in the garbage bag.

Kaminari covered his mouth with both hands now, "Gah! What are you doing? Are you trying to make things worse?!" His muffled and his breath wheezed through the gaps between his fingers.

"N-no! I slipped honest. And what do you think you're doing, luring out an adorable girl in a smelly place like this?"

"YOU brought us here!" Kaminari took a glance at the horrific contents of the garbage bag and then took his attention away from the bag. Eyeing the alleyway. "All Might's gone. Ah shit! Where'd he go? Argh!"

"Oh no. No no no. He's going to be so mad."

"This is all your fault!"

"You're the one who called me a bitch first!"

"Because you are! But let's call a truce and search for All Might for now."

"No need. He's already on the other side. Com'on."

* * *

" **Yo."**

 **The call had gone through and the person on the other side had picked up.**

" **How many times have I said to only call when absolutely necessary?"**

 **Kaminari laughed to himself, "Oh maaaaan, you sound irritated. Busy with something?"**

" **Yeah. I'm meeting with a potential new recruit. I like the kid, he could make a nice addition.**

" **Is it Yukihira?"**

"…"

" **You know; I'm going to take that silence as a yes. Now if you don't find this call to be necessary. I'm going to hang up."**

" **Wait."**

" **Now you sound interested. I'll tell you what I know, in exchange you have to call me Master the next time you see me."**

" **Fuck off dude. Just tell me what you know."**

" **Fine, fine. You're no fun, bro. Yukihira is Endeavor's son, Shouto Todoroki. He's trying to spy on you, sound familiar? Except no sent him, he went of his own accord."**

" **Haaaaah…" Kaminari heard the long winded sigh on the other end.**

 **Kaminari looked at Yuuei's front entrance for a second, spotting Midoriya carrying All Might and blitz straight through. From his view, he could see Jirou stumble out from a bush with loose leaves which she tried to wipe off.**

" **Hold on, something's come up. I'll text you the rest."**

* * *

"Nice to see you got the message, Shigaraki."

On the other side of Kurogiri's portal, Kaminari and Aizawa landed inside the abandoned warehouse which had obvious signs of a struggle taking place. But thankfully the source of said struggle, Shina and Todoroki's body were sprawled across the floor, unconscious and All Might got forcibly put on his knees before the League. Aizawa's entire body began to lose its figure and slowly transformed back into Himiko.

"Ahhh. Back to normal~" Himiko smiled happily while panting heavily. "The plan worked! Nice one Shigaraki."

"The credit goes to Kaminari. It was his plan."

Kaminari had a smug look on his face, "That's right. Praise me bitch."

"Ew gross." Himiko back away from Kaminari, slowly making her way to Twice and Dabi.

"After raiding Overhaul's place. I overheard him say that you got a slash at him. So honestly, this plan couldn't be done without you."

"So it was you Kaminari." All Might's shoulders drooped, his spirit appeared to be leaving his body. "The one who signaled the attack on USJ. The one that allowed the League of Villains to track us down at the training camp and the one that injected Class B with Trigger. Is there anything else I'm missing?"

"Haha. I'd say that's enough." Kaminari patted himself on the chest.

"You seem awfully proud. However, you're already the leading suspect. All you've gone is incriminate yourself even further. No matter what tactic you pull, they'll connect that you were with me last, and that'd be the last straw."

"I'd love to continue deceiving the 'pro heroes' but if his cover is blown…" Shigaraki began to laugh hysterically, "Does that even matter All Might? We've won. We have you, the Symbol of Peace at our mercy." Shigaraki knelt down meeting face to face, eye to eye with the former #1 hero. "And pretty soon, I'm going to kill you. It's all I've ever dreamed of. Every villain talks a lot of shit, thinking they can kill you but piss themselves at the mere thought of you. But I'm not scared of you. Because I am _actually_ gonna kill you. And then the League of Villains will be known for more than just Stain. They'll be known as the group that killed the Symbol of Peace and after, all the small-time villains will flock to me."

"My time has come to an end. I've already left the world of heroes to the next generation. All you'd be doing, is killing the husk of the hero known as All Might. Congratulations Shigaraki, you've impressed the world by killing a defenseless retired hero. But you wouldn't do that. You're better than that. You're my mentor's…Nana's…"

Kaminari sliced the air between Shigaraki and All Might's head, "Sorry to interrupt but Deku and Jirou are on their way here as we speak. So can we skedaddle?"

Shigaraki snapped his fingers, which annoyed Kurogiri to no end. He hated being treated like a slave but he knew that was his cue to open up a portal and transport his comrades and captives to a new location.

"Hold on a second." Kaminari walked over to Todoroki, stripping him of his phone and then shocking his entire body. Todoroki painfully and momentarily regained consciousness before Kaminari bonked him on his head, knocking him out. "I fried the tracker on him. Now they can't tail us."

Shigaraki let out a friendly laugh, it had been a while since he and Kaminari were face to face with one another. "You only learned these things thanks to Yuuei. You may have gone too far. You're starting to resemble a full fledged hero, disgusting."

Kaminari waved off the teasing from his leader and best friend, "Yeah yeah. Let's get going."

Shigaraki led All Might through the portal, pushing with 4 fingers to avoid decaying him on the spot. The other villains followed Shigaraki and left Kurogiri with the grunt work having to carry Shina and Todoroki himself.

* * *

"Where are we? All Might came to the sight of a rooftop which had a tower of satellite antennas propped on tower. " _A radio station? No. Is this a TV station? If I recall, this building is close to a busy intersection. Why would Shigaraki go somewhere so public? What does he have planned?_ _"_

Shigaraki had chosen to warp to the rooftops of a broadcast station located in the downtown area quite a distance away from the abandoned factory which was on the outskirts of the city. The time is currently 6PM. A time where those leaving were done with work and those entering the city, came for the thrill of the nightlife. The sun slowly began to set, illuminating the clouds and sky that reigned over the city in a tint of orange. The lamp posts and light from open shops gave the citizens a clear view of the streets. And from the League of Villains point of view, he could see everyone below him, but without any bright light source, those from below would not be able to see him, his fellow villains or All Might at the top of the roof.

Kaminari made a dash for the edge of the rooftop, looking down on everyone as he used his hands as make believe binoculars, "Woooow, we're high up." Kaminari wobbled for a bit before regaining his balance, "Whew that was close. It's a long fall down. You'd think they'd put a gate up or something."

Himiko crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks, "You should have just slipped off. Ahhh~ What I would do to hear your body go 'splat'."

Kaminari rubbed his chin, "Oh, there are other way to hear me 'splat'." He said as he gave a perverted smile to Himiko.

"Ew. Ew ew gross. The first person around my age and it's him? I hate him!"

Kurogiri, being the mature adult here, tried to stop the conflict between his fellow co-villains. "You two did good work today. But if I weren't waiting at the pick up point and All Might didn't coincidently run into me, the plan would have failed and Kaminari, you'd have been exposed for nothing. So I'd like it and I think Shigaraki would like it if you two got along."

"Right now, I'd like it if everyone, left me here with All Might. We've have things to discuss and since we've gotten so far, I'd like to get everything set up. Because today…" Shigaraki gave his allies a reassuring smile, "we make history and change the world."


	16. Search Party V: Despair

"Alone at last. Alone with the Symbol of Peace. Alone with the greatest hero of all-time. Alone with All-Might."

Shigaraki circled around Toshinori on the broadcast station rooftops. Kaminari and Kurogiri, the two longest tenured members of the League of Villains, stayed on the other side of the rooftops with an unconscious Todoroki and Shina by his side. While the other members headed inside the broadcast station for a brief moment.

"It's too bad. I'd earned a lot more respect if I kill you in your prime but I guess I'll settle for…" Shigaraki waved his arm, scanning the height of All Might's lanky, gloomy, shriveled looking stature. "This."

"You get nothing for doing this."

"Wrong! Regardless how you are now, you were the number 1 hero. Your very existence gives the heroes hope. This fragile state is highly protected within the confines of Yuuei. You are the one thing that can break down Midoriya Izuku."

"Break down…Midoriya?"

"You really think I know nothing? Of course, _he_ told me everything. The battle between you two is over. You both left this unfinished battle to the next generation. That would make him…my rival, right? But it's not fair. He has quite the advantage over me. He still has someone there to mentor him."

"That's because I won at Ground Zero." He practically gloated. "If All-for-One had emerged victorious. You would be the one with the mentor, Shigaraki."

"Good for you." He praised All-Might sarcastically. "You won the battle. Congratulations. But you celebrated that one victory for too long. Sensei carefully laid out the ground work for this very moment. To use our raw strength and defeat you was plan A. The other one was to use our wits." Shigaraki pointed at Kaminari who childishly waved back with a stupid-looking smile on his face. "He's our plan B and it worked."

Toshinori couldn't find the words to answer back. It looked grim for him, Shigaraki had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted.

"Speechless, All-Might? You waiting for your boy wonder to save the day?"

"Wh-what…turned you this way?" His voice trembled. "You're Nana's grandson. This isn't you."

"Oh here we go. 'You come from a line of heroes.' And, 'your grandmother was my mentor.' For some reason you think that obligates me to become a hero? Sorry to disappoint you but I don't have a tragic backstory that can be mended by cliché hero phrases. Newsflash. As much as you think you do, you don't know me, All-Might. Now, let's end this."

The door to the rooftop burst open. Himiko and Spinner came out escorting an employee of the broadcast station. The employee held a camera that hooked up to the station's network.

"H-holy crap. I-is that…All-Might?" The employee's jaw dropped at the very sight. "H-hey. What are you going to do to him?"

Shigaraki snapped his fingers. "Kaminari."

"Aye yai. Pin him down."

Himiko and Spinner did as they were asked and Kaminari began to twiddle his fingers, electric sparks were flowing and zapping around.

"W-wait! W-w-what are you going to do to ME?"

Kaminari smiled mischievously. "Have you ever heard of electroshock therapy?"

He brought his fingers to the employee's head. The electric current's stunned his entire body and he looked like he'd been going through an intense seizure. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body twitched and drool began to spew out.

"Now what I want you to do is to grab that camera, point it at that man and turn it on."

Kaminari let go of the employee and he stood and grabbed his camera, pointing it at Shigaraki.

"I see, that's your brainwashing technique in action. Quite useful." Shigaraki praised him. "Let the camera roll."

* * *

"Hey everyone, you're going to want to see this." Shinsou gathered the Todoroki Rescue Party around his phone.

"That's!"

"Shigaraki!"

"And…All-Might."

Deku immediately left the rescue party.

"Hey! Midoriya!" Aizawa tried to call after him.

There was no time to waste, All-Might, his hero and idol was in grave danger. From the seconds of looking at the video he saw a flicking red light and a metal structure that looked like the base of a tower that held up a satellite dish. Not only that but Shigaraki had managed to broadcast himself everywhere and with that deduction, Midoriya headed straight for where he thought it would be.

"Mirio, follow him." Nighteye ordered and turned his attention back to the broadcast. _"_ _Is it_ _…_ _time?_ _"_

"I'm going too." Yaoyorozu created a glider and jumped off the building. _"_ _Midoriya must have figured something out._ _"_

Aizawa dropped his shoulders and sighed, "Fine, I'm going too!"

* * *

" _The attack at USJ. The Noumus. Stain. Ground Zero. Overhaul. Trigger. All of these events can be lead back to one cause. MY League of Villains. And tonight, we add one more significant event to that list. The public execution of All-Might._ _"_

* * *

Everyone in the city gathered around to stare at the large TV screen which televised what could only be the biggest news of the night, if not the year.

"Who is that guy?"

"How did he get a hold of All-Might?"

"What's he going to do to All-Might?"

"He's responsible for all of that? Why has no one caught him yet?"

"What are the heroes doing right now? Nothing could be more important than this!"

* * *

" _Every villain in the world knows what it feels like to have the heroes fail you. Now, the world will know what it_ _'_ _s like to have the heroes fail them. Everyone in Japan must be seeing this broadcast right now. There are thousands of heroes who can save the day, who can save your beloved All-Might. But here_ _'_ _s a spoiler alert, they won_ _'_ _t._ _"_

* * *

"I want all commanding officers to search each and every inch of the city. I want helicopters in the air, ASAP."

" _Toshinori, where are you? Give us something to work with._ _"_ Detective Tsukauchi kept looking at the broadcast for any hints. _"_ _Wait a minute, how did they hijack a broadcast network?_ _"_

* * *

" _They won_ _'_ _t because half of them are idiots and the other half won_ _'_ _t bother. They won_ _'_ _t bother because they think the idiots will cover their ass and save the day. If all heroes worked together, they could probably save everything and everyone. But they don_ _'_ _t and that_ _'_ _s why they_ _'_ _ll fail today. And that_ _'_ _s why soon enough, they_ _'_ _ll fall to the villains._

* * *

"Why wouldn't the heroes all try and save him? He's All-Might!" Mineta asked his classmate as he munched on some pizza.

"Exactly, it's All-Might, does he even need saving?" Aoyama wondered.

"Look at him! That's not the All-Might we know. Of course he needs saving! Let's go!" Kirishima stood up but felt a weight on his shoulder push him down.

"Kero, we aren't breaking the school rules again. Besides it's too dangerous, kero."

"Tsuyu's right. As your class president, I highly advise against Kirishima's course of action."

"You fucking idiots. This is exactly what that hands-for-face bastard is talking about! We'll going to sit by and watch the other heroes save the day? I'm not gonna fuckin' be the half that won't bother!"

"It's against the rules, Bakugou! Besides, you're still on probation!"

"Fuck the rules! It's time like THESE, where you should question if you even deserve to call yourself a hero!"

"Recipro burst." Ilda lit up the engines in his legs and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the back of Bakugou's head, rendering him unconscious. "It's time like these, where you leave it to the real heroes."

* * *

"All-Might you were a hero so dominant that you kneeled to no man. A hero so dominant that the very sight of you caused villains to shiver and cower in their boots. But you're way past your prime."

Shigaraki pushed Toshinori to the edge of the building. He felt his balance waver but Shigaraki grabbed his wrist to keep him from falling.

"I'll be taking my trophy."

Shigaraki gripped Toshinori's wrist with all 5 fingers. The area he held began to crumble and decay and Toshinori's screams of agony could be heard from everyone on the rooftop and everyone listening in on the broadcast. Toshinori knelt down to his knees before Shigaraki. His screams slowly became a wince of pain as he sucked his teeth to hide his pain.

"Nghhh." Todoroki groaned as he woke up to the sounds of Toshinori in pain. "W-what's happening here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shina tried to look away but Himiko kept pushing her face back to the scene before them.

"Stop…Stop it, right now!"

"Shut up. Now, do me a little favor."

" _That voice. Where have I heard it before?_ _"_ Todoroki tried to turn his head but the person kept pushing his head back to the sight as well.

"Shigaraki's gonna hate me for this but it'd be a disadvantage to not spy on Yuuei."

" _The traitor?_ _"_ Todoroki tried to regain feeling in his hands. Slowly, ice and flames formed in his hands.

Kaminari twiddles his fingers and touched the top of Todoroki's skull. Todoroki could feel a strange current surging through his body.

" _I can_ _'_ _t move_ _…_ _I can_ _'_ _t_ _…_ _think properly._ _"_

"Now, here's what I want you to do…"

His body stood up and slowly made his way forward, pass the cameraman.

"T-Todoroki?" Shina continued to struggle or even to turn her head and hope to get a glimpse of the traitor but Himiko held her own against her.

* * *

"Who just walked into the shot?" Endeavor asked as they continued to huddle around Shinsou's phone.

" _That attire…"_ Nighteye continued to watch.

"It's Todoroki." Shinsou answered.

"That's how he looks as Yukihira?"

* * *

"Hey who's that?"

"No clue."

As everyone watched the broadcast from the large screens outside, the camera turned towards Yukihira's face.

"Ah, I've heard of him! He's that ice-quirk vigilante. Yukihira."

"Vigilante? Look at him. That's a villain man."

"No one is trying to stop him. He's definitely a member of that League of Villains."

" _Look everyone. Look at your hero, bowing before the villains._ _"_

Shigaraki took Toshinori's decayed, detached hand and placed it on his shoulder. A trophy for his triumph over him.

" _Playtime_ _'_ _s over. I_ _'_ _ve given the heroes enough time. Say your farewells, All-Might. Huh? The fuck you doing here? Hey! Who let him go?_ _"_

Shigaraki heard the approaching footsteps of Yukihira behind him. And brought his hand out to decay his face but over Yukihira's shoulder, he could see Kaminari waving at him and that moment of hesitation is all it took.

Todoroki's could only think but unable to muster up any words. _"_ _My body_ _…_ _isn_ _'_ _t responding to me. This feels similar to Shinsou_ _'_ _s brainwashing. That command the traitor gave me_ _…_ _I don_ _'_ _t_ _…_ _want to_ _…"_

From Toshinori's point of view. He could see the twisted distorted expression on Todoroki's face. He gritted his teeth together in hopes of resisting the brainwashing but all it looked like to Toshinori was a villainous evil smile.

Toshinori still in pain looked up and looked relieved to see his student alive and well, "Glad to see you're safe Todo-"

* * *

After jumping from building to building, Deku finally came into view of where he believed to the location site for Shigaraki's broadcast. It would still take him a few minutes to reach. He squinted his eyes really hard.

"That's it. It's them." He confirmed.

"That building over there?" Mirio questioned.

"Yeah but what is…Todoroki doing?!"

* * *

From the view of the camera all the audience could see was Shigaraki, who was a few steps away from All-Might, looking at someone beyond the camera and the vigilante, Yukihira walking past him and towards an injured, one-handed All-Might. Through the camera, one moment All-Might was in sight and the next, he had fallen over backwards, off the building. The audience screamed in horror. Judging from All-Might fragile looking body, there was no way he could survive a fall from high heights.

"All-Might!"

"Please be safe, All-Might!"

* * *

Everyone on the rooftop was stunned at what at happened. Himiko became distracted for a split second for Shina to advantage of this opportunity and follow after Todoroki and All-Might.

"Himiko!" Shigaraki scolded her for her screw up.

He tried to catch Shina himself but she bodystopped him from chasing after her. She made sure to wear her fox mask before jumping off the building.

"Arghhhhh!" Shigaraki touched the camera with the entirely of his hand. The camera decay instantly and the broadcast was cut short.

He walked over to see how the events would turn out.

"If All-Might dies, you know who gets the credit for killing him? NOT ME."

* * *

"ALL-MIGHT!"

Yukihira slid down the building using his ice quirk to try and catch up to the former hero's body. He tried to protect him in a shell of ice but Toshinori's body was falling at incredible speeds and he showed no signs of catching up. The large amount of ice covering the building caught attention of the people still lingering around at the busy intersection. They pointed up at the spectacle before realizing that they were at that very location of that villainous broadcast and the person falling from the sky was All-Might.

"All-Might! Stay still!"

Shina trailed behind Yukihira in the air with nothing to cushion her fall. She was in free fall, just like All-Might. She curled the fingers on her left towards her left elbow joint in order to use it as an anchor point on herself. While her arm stayed in mid-air stasis, the rest of her body dragged down before coming to a stop.

"Ack!"

She felt her shoulder pop. She had dislocated her shoulder for the sake of stopping her body's momentum and using her free hand to do the same to All-Might. But she had to be careful. If she shot his head, the body's momentum would swing his body and snap his neck. But any other body part would be fine. All-Might could make due with a snapped leg or arm. At all costs, All-Might had to live.

" _Why is his head so visible? Give me something._ _"_

She tried to snipe out his body. The longer she took the shot and the further All-Might's body descended, the more dangerous anchor pointing any body part would be.

"Here goes." Shina aimed downward, shot a body bullet and hoped for the best.

All-Might's body continued to fall.

"I missed?!" Shina let go of the anchor point on her elbows and continued her free fall. "Todo-, Yukihira! Catch me!"

"Are you blind? All-Might's falling!"

"Are YOU blind? At this rate you're going to end up with two bodies splatting!"

Yukihira created a second ice slide for Shina to freely slide down.

"We'll only make it with your quirk. Try it one more time, Shina."

Shina clutched her injured left arm together and then tried to snipe All-Might's body a second time.

"Last shot."

Shina shot out one more bodystop bullet. From the nearing surface they could hear the loud roaring of an exciting, proud young man. The source of the voice was none other than Mirio Togata who had used his permeation ability from afar and shot out from the ground and in the nick of time to extend out his arms perfectly positioning himself so that All-Might would land in his arms.

"I am here, All-"

* * *

" _Ever since I joined Sir Nighteye_ _'_ _s agency, the one thing that was bothered me. Was the fact that a man of Sir_ _'_ _s talent would no longer work side by side with All-Might. After enough pestering I finally got an answer from All-Might._ _"_

" **He foresaw my future.** **"**

" _A future where All-Might would_ _'_ _clash_ _'_ _with a villain and meet a gruesome demise._ _"_

" **Capture him if you can but if you can't…you have my full authority to kill him."**

" _He sent out the order for this very event. I wonder. What did Sir see in his foresight? He probably saw the very last moments through All-Might_ _'_ _s eyes. Where All-Might would be on his knees, reaching out from one hand as the other hand had already been brutally decayed and bloodied. And then the menacing, villainous smile of Yukihira. Who would then push him off the building._ _"_

* * *

If everything had gone correctly, Mirio with his quirk would shoot out from ground at blinding speeds and just barely at the skin of his teeth, save All-Might.

"I am here, All-" For a moment, Mirio's body felt a strange sensation. _"_ _What?_ _"_

The problem is that everything had not gone correctly. The moment he shot out of the ground to solidify his body, Shina had missed her bodystop bullet and accidentally hit Mirio. His body would remain in stasis for about a second. Shina, knowing she missed the shot, let go of whatever her bullet hit. That would resume Mirio's body flying through the air with open arms in an attempt to catch All-Might. Mirio could see All-Might body falling right above him and then one second later, right below him. All-Might's body landed with a thud, a splat and the sounds of bones cracking. A second later, Mirio's body would then land in front of All-Might's body. It only confirmed Mirio's suspicions. If everything had gone perfectly, he would've barely saved All-Might.

* * *

Midoriya arrived at the scene 30 seconds later. Yukihira and Shina had already arrived before him. Everyone in the area stood there in silence, stunned at what they saw.

"All…" _"_ _All-Might?_ _"_

Midoriya's voice trembled. Nothing would come out. Nothing but tears.

" _All-Might?_ _"_

He, like everyone else there, couldn't believe their eyes.

" _Is this some kind of sick joke? Haha_ _…_ _the villains_ _…_ _winning? All-Might_ _…_ _let the villains win? Haha_ _…"_

Midoriya slowly directed his head towards Yukihira, who he knew under that mask was his friend and classmate, Todoroki Shouto. Sadness, anger, vengeance, betrayal. He didn't know how to feel.

" _No_ _…_ _Todoroki. Todoroki let the villains win. This is_ _…_ _all his fault._ _"_

He remembered Nighteye's words he came across a familiar feeling. Something he only felt when he was quirkless. A time before he met All-Might.

" **He will become the catalyst that will tear down the walls of society as we know it."**

Despair.


End file.
